CULTURE MEDIA AND SPORT

Departmental Regulations

Gordon Banks: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport what regulations his Department has introduced since 6 May 2010.

John Penrose: The following regulations sponsored by the Department have been made since 6 May 2010:
	The Ecclesiastical Exemption (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) (England) (Amendment) Order 2010;
	The Olympics, Paralympics and London Olympics Association Rights (Infringement Proceedings) Regulations 2010;
	The Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport Order 2010;
	The Legislative Reform (Licensing) (Interim Authority Notices etc) Order 2010;
	The Royal Parks and Other Open Spaces (Amendment) (No.2) etc. Regulations 2010;
	The Football Spectators (Seating) Order 2010;
	The Safety of Sports Grounds (Designation) Order 2010;
	The Safety of Sports Grounds (Designation) (No.2) Order 2010;
	The Safety of Sports Grounds (Designation) (No.3) Order 2010;
	The Audiovisual Media Services (Codification) Regulations 2010;
	The Welsh Language (Gambling and Licensing Form) Regulations 2010;
	The Apportionment of Money in the National Lottery Distribution Fund Order 2010;
	The Public Lending Right Scheme 1982 (Commencement of Variation) Order 2011.

Internet: Devon

Anne-Marie Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport what estimate he has made of the number of households in Devon without access to the internet.

Edward Vaizey: I have not made a specific estimate. Almost all households in the UK can access the internet through one of a variety of mechanisms-broadband connection, dial-up connection via the phone line, mobile or satellite.
	Broadband Delivery UK estimates that about 950,000 households in the UK as a whole have access to internet connections capable of 512 Kbps or less.

Olympic Games 2012

David Lammy: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport when he expects the board of the Olympic Park Legacy Company to reach a decision on the future of the Olympic Stadium.

Hugh Robertson: The Olympic Park Legacy Company (OPLC) is currently seeking clarifications on the final offers submitted by the two bidding consortiums. Once these clarifications have been received and the evaluation of bids is complete, the OPLC Board will meet to reach a decision. The decision will then be subject to approval by the founder members.

Public Libraries: Cumbria

Tim Farron: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport what recent representations he has received on library closures in  (a) the North West,  (b) Cumbria and  (c) Westmorland and Lonsdale constituency.

Edward Vaizey: Local authorities are not obliged to consult the Secretary of State about plans for their library service. However the Department has received correspondence from library users in areas of the north-west where library closures have been proposed. The hon. Member for Wigan (Lisa Nandy) secured an adjournment debate on 25 January about the future of library services in which she and other hon. Members from the north-west region spoke about the library service provided to their constituents.

ATTORNEY-GENERAL

Police

Ian Swales: To ask the Attorney-General whether he has plans to review the guidance to police officers and Crown prosecutors issued by the Director of Public Prosecutions.

Dominic Grieve: The Director's Guidance on Charging is issued by the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) under section 37A of the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984. The guidance sets out the arrangements prescribed by the DPP for the joint working of police officers and prosecutors during the investigation and prosecution of criminal cases.
	The 4th Edition of the Director's Guidance on Charging was signed and issued by the DPP on 21 January 2011. The guidance is being rolled out in CPS and police force areas, and implementation is expected to be completed by 30 June 2011. Until such time that the new guidance is implemented, the 3rd Edition of the Director's Guidance on Charging remains in force.

TRANSPORT

Departmental Responsibilities

Charlie Elphicke: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what steps his Department has taken to give effect to the Government's big society initiative since May 2010.

Norman Baker: The Department for Transport is committed to supporting the principles of the big society.
	For example, in response to public concerns about the fear of litigation, in October 2010 the Department for Transport published straightforward guidance for households and traders who wish to act in a neighbourly way by clearing snow and ice from paths in front of property, pavements and other public spaces. It was clear during the recent spell of severe winter weather that the overwhelming majority of people want to take social action in a common sense way, whilst showing neighbourliness and generosity of spirit in these circumstances.
	Furthermore, the recently published Local Transport White Paper, encourages local authorities to form greater partnership with the voluntary, community, and social enterprises sector and citizens in the design and delivery of local sustainable transport solutions. This is intended to lead to greater community empowerment, the opening up of public services and to further the promotion of social action to achieve the local outcomes people want.

Dorset

Tobias Ellwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what plans he has for an official visit to Dorset.

Philip Hammond: holding answer 27 January 2011
	 I do not have any current plans to visit Dorset in my official capacity.

Driving: Licensing

John Thurso: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will bring forward proposals to  (a) amend the rules for issuing Group 2 medical licences to drivers with insulin-dependent diabetes in line with EU Directive 2009/113/EC and  (b) permit insulin-dependent diabetics to obtain a Group 2 licence where, in the opinion of a qualified medical practitioner, their condition is properly controlled and they pose no risk to themselves or other road users.

Michael Penning: The EU Directive 2009/113/EC proposes that the medical licensing standards for Group 2 (bus and lorry) drivers who have insulin treated diabetes can be relaxed. Decisions on implementing any change to the current UK licensing standards will be taken only when the responses to the public consultation announced today have been analysed.

Human Trafficking

Peter Bone: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what contribution he has made to the Government's review of its strategy on human trafficking.

Philip Hammond: holding answer 27 January 2011
	None at this stage. Home Office Ministers have the lead on the development of the Government strategy on human trafficking, and I will contribute when the Home Secretary seeks Cabinet colleagues' comments in the normal way.

Railways: Franchising

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport 
	(1)  what assessment will be undertaken of the availability of other forms of public transport before any rail services are ceased under new franchises;
	(2)  whether an equality impact assessment will be required to be undertaken before any rail services are ceased under new franchises.

Theresa Villiers: The Railways Act 2005 stipulates that if any rail services are to be closed then both an Equalities Assessment and a business case are required. The Equalities Assessment includes consideration of alternative modes of transport. Full guidance can be found on the Department's website at:
	http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/+/http://www.dft.gov.uk/pgr/rail/legislation/sgd/railways closuresguidancea/railwaysclosuresguidance.pdf

Railways: Overcrowding

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what will be the maximum time a passenger should have to stand on an intercity rail journey under the new franchises.

Theresa Villiers: The Government's aim is that all intercity passengers should get a seat (unless they are making a short journey of less than 20 minutes). Bidders for west coast will be asked to submit credible plans for achieving this objective, based on the passenger numbers they plan to carry over the life of the franchise.

Railways: Vandalism

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what his policy is on steps to deal with incidents of vandalism on the rail network.

Theresa Villiers: We are committed to combating crime, antisocial behaviour and the fear of crime wherever it occurs in the transport system. Route crime can best be tackled by all sections of the rail industry working together. The British Transport police liaises with Network Rail, local authorities, train operating companies and local schools to reduce the incidence of vandalism on the rail network.

Sea Rescue: Northern Ireland

Naomi Long: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will assess the potential effects of closure of the coastguard station in Northern Ireland.

Michael Penning: The proposals to restructure HM Coastguard are currently out to public consultation and include an option either to close the Belfast Maritime Rescue Co-ordination Centre (MRCC) or to make it a daytime only operation.
	Neither option will impact on our ability to co-ordinate search and rescue (SAR); implementing the proposals will mean that this can be done from any location.
	In terms of the effect on staff, if a decision was made to close Belfast, staff could apply for vacancies at a new Maritime Operations Centre (MOC) or a sub-Centre, the wider Coastguard, or the Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA). Opportunities would also be given to apply to the wider civil service. Only after all these opportunities were exhausted, would the redundancy be considered. If a decision was made to make Belfast MRCC a sub-centre, staff would be given the same options, including the option to apply for a post in the same location.

West Coast Railway Line

Christopher Pincher: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will assess the likely effect of technological changes to business working on the forecast demand for passenger travel on the West Coast Main Line to 2035.

Theresa Villiers: In so far as evidence is available on the impact of technology on rail demand, this is included in any demand forecasts. Research on new and evolving influences on rail demand is carried out on an ongoing basis by the Department for Transport and the rail industry's Passenger Demand Forecasting Council.
	Forecasting demand to 2026 for the West Coast Mainline will be a matter for the bidders on the new franchise. As part of its evaluation process, the Department will review any evidence and assumptions included within the bids.

West Coast Railway Line: Franchising

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what steps he is taking to encourage passengers to engage in the consultation process on the West Coast Main Line franchise.

Theresa Villiers: Over 300 e-mails have been sent to stakeholders with the details of the Intercity West Coast Consultation Document. Four stakeholder events have been organised during February for Manchester, Birmingham, Glasgow and London and invitations have been issued. A stakeholder briefing document will be produced after the close of the consultation that summarises the responses received.

SCOTLAND

Economic Growth

Cathy Jamieson: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland pursuant to the answer of 25 November 2010,  Official Report, column 453W, on economic growth, whether he has requested the Chancellor of the Exchequer to commission research on future economic growth in Scotland.

David Mundell: Returning all parts of the UK to sustainable economic growth is the Government's overriding priority and it is at the heart of the Government's agenda for this Parliament. Building on announcements in the spending review and Budget, the Government are undertaking a growth review to examine what each part of Government can do to support growth and investment. The independent Office for Budget Responsibility's updated fiscal and economic forecast shows sustainable growth for the UK as a whole in each of the next five years while external forecasts for the Scottish economy predict growth in the Scottish economy of between 1.1% and 2.2% for the coming year.

Forestry Commission

Cathy Jamieson: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what recent discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs on the effects in Scotland of proposed changes to the Forestry Commission in England and Wales.

David Mundell: The Secretary of State for Scotland and I have regular discussions with the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs on a range of issues. Forestry is a devolved matter, and the UK Government consider it unlikely that changes to the Public Forest Estate in England would have any consequences for Scottish forestry. We will of course keep the issue under review and will continue our discussions with the Scottish Government.

President of the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities

Ann McKechin: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland on how many occasions since his appointment he has met the President of the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities.

Michael Moore: Since my appointment I have been in contact with many people and organisations, including COSLA, on matters important to Scotland.

WALES

Departmental Regulations

Gordon Banks: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales 
	(1)  what regulations her Department has introduced since 6 May 2010;
	(2)  what regulations her Department has removed since 6 May 2010.

David Jones: The Wales Office has brought forward eight statutory instruments since 6 May 2010. None of these place burdens on business. The instruments relate to the referendum next month on further powers for the National Assembly for Wales, the elections to the Assembly in May 2011, the legislative competence of the Assembly, the appointment of the chief inspector for education and training in Wales and the use of personal data by elected representatives.
	The Wales Office has repealed one statutory instrument since 6 May 2010, relating to the disqualification of candidates at the Assembly elections in 2007.

COMMUNITIES AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT

Council Housing: Property Transfer

Karen Buck: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many residential properties were sold by local authorities in each region in each of the last five years for which figures are available.

Andrew Stunell: Figures on the number of sales of social housing stock by local authorities are published on the DCLG website in the form of live tables on social housing sales to sitting tenants:
	http://www.communities.gov.uk/housing/housingresearch/housingstatistics/housingstatisticsby/socialhousingsales/livetables/

Decentralisation and Localism Bill

Andrew Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what consultation he has undertaken with the construction industry in relation to the provisions of the Localism Bill that relate to planning powers.

Greg Clark: There have been discussions with a wide range of groups on the Localism Bill. The Department has engaged with groups such as the Confederation of British Industry, the Construction Products Association, the Federation of Master Builders and a broad range of firms from the development and house building sector.

Empty Dwelling Management Orders: Bromsgrove

Sajid Javid: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many properties in Bromsgrove constituency were subject to an empty dwellings management order in each year since 2007.

Andrew Stunell: There have been no empty dwelling management order applications or authorisations in the Bromsgrove area.

Government: Assets

Charlie Elphicke: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government pursuant to the answer of 26 January 2011,  Official Report, column 306W, on Government: assets, which clauses in the Localism Bill enable a community right to  (a) challenge and  (b) buy assets owned by central Government.

Andrew Stunell: Clauses 66 to 70 in the Localism Bill make provision for the community right to challenge. This is a right for voluntary and community bodies, local authority employees looking to deliver the service as a mutual, and parish councils, to express an interest in running a local authority service.
	Clauses 71 to 88 of the Localism Bill provide for the listing of Assets of Community Value, and for a window of opportunity to give community interest groups a greater opportunity to bid to buy such assets. Clause 72 enables the Secretary of State, and Welsh Ministers in Wales, to make provision which will determine whether a building or land is of community value. This definition will be set down in secondary legislation following public consultation commencing in early 2011. Central Government assets which meet this definition will be covered.

Holocaust Memorial Day

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what steps the Government took to mark Holocaust Memorial Day 2011; and if he will make a statement.

Andrew Stunell: Holocaust Memorial Day 2011 was marked at over 500 local events around the United Kingdom, as well as at the national commemoration in the Royal Horticultural Halls which the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, my right hon. Friend the Member for Brentwood and Ongar (Mr Pickles) addressed on behalf of the Government.
	The Government supported the Holocaust Memorial Day Trust to organise the national commemoration and its associated educational programme, and to encourage local events. We have indicated that we will continue to meet the costs of Holocaust Memorial Day for a minimum of a further two years, during which time my Department will assist the trust to optimise its business model so that it is able to continue its crucial work in the most effective way possible.

Housing: Carbon Emissions

Annette Brooke: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what steps he is taking to reduce carbon emissions in new properties.

Grant Shapps: The Government are committed to progressive improvements in the energy efficiency requirements for new homes and to enabling zero carbon homes from 2016 and non-domestic buildings from 2019. The Government are working with industry and others on the standards for zero carbon homes. The energy performance standards in the building regulations which apply to new buildings were strengthened last year and the Government are making plans for further changes in 2013.

Housing: Carbon Emissions

Annette Brooke: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what level of emissions allow a property to be classified as a zero carbon home.

Grant Shapps: The Government believe that, to qualify as zero carbon, new homes should not add extra carbon dioxide emissions to the atmosphere. In delivering this commitment the Government have already confirmed that this will include an ambitious requirement for energy efficiency in the fabric of new homes. In addition to this the Government have commissioned further work from the zero carbon hub on the right levels of on-site reductions and we are awaiting the full findings of this work. It is widely accepted that for the majority of new homes it is not feasible to deal with all emissions on-site; given this, Government are working with industry to develop off-site mechanisms to deliver additional cost effective carbon savings.

Housing: Construction

Jack Dromey: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what estimate he has made of the likely change in the level of house building following the announcement of the abolition of regional housing targets.

Andrew Stunell: From April 2011 the New Homes Bonus, will match fund the additional council tax raised for new houses and properties brought back into use, with an additional amount for affordable houses, for the following six years.
	It is the market that determines how many houses are actually built. Regional housing targets have been ineffective. 2009 saw the lowest peacetime level of house starts since 1924. We are replacing targets with incentives which will be far more effective for the delivery of new houses. The number of starts in Quarter 2 and Quarter 3 of 2010 has risen compared to comparable quarters of 2009.
	Full details of the scheme design were published on 12 November and can be found on the Department's website at:
	http://www.communities.gov.uk/housing/housingsupply/newhomesbonus
	A consultation on the scheme design closed on 24 December. We will publish the final scheme design in due course.

Localism Bill

Alison Seabeck: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government if he will place in the Library copies of responses to the consultation on Part 6 of the Localism Bill.

Grant Shapps: The Government published "Local Decisions: a fairer future for social housing" on 22 November, setting out a range of proposed reforms and seeking views; the consultation period closed on 17 January and approximately 700 responses have been received. A summary of the responses to consultation will be published on the Department's website shortly. We intend to do so earlier than the three month deadline from end of consultation set out in the code of practice on consultation. We will place a copy in the Library of the House. Individual responses will be made available on request, unless respondents have asked that they be treated as confidential.

Localism Bill

Ian Mearns: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government with reference to the Explanatory Notes to the Localism Bill, paragraph 463, what the evidential basis is for the calculation that the enactment of the Bill will create an estimated charge of £21 million per year on local authorities.

Greg Clark: The Government are committed to the new burdens doctrine, have considered the costs to local authorities accordingly and will provide funding in the usual ways. The figure presented in the explanatory notes is provisional, but the evidence base behind costs and benefits to different groups, including local authorities, can be found in the impact assessments which are available on the Department for Communities and Local Government website and can be found at:
	http://www.communities.gov.uk/localgovernment/decentralisation/localismbill/

Private Rented Housing

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government whether his Department has plans to encourage local authorities to adopt accreditation schemes for private rented sector landlords.

Grant Shapps: My Department is supportive of all mechanisms by which local authorities can seek to help local landlords improve the service they offer to their tenants. Accreditation schemes can be an effective way to do this. But we do not think that it is the role of central Government to prescribe to local authorities how best to manage their relationship with private landlords in their area.

Public Sector: Carbon Emissions

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what his policy is on the EU target for all new buildings occupied and owned by public authorities to be near-zero carbon from 31 December 2018; what assessment he has made of UK progress toward the target; and if he will make a statement.

Andrew Stunell: The recast of the energy performance of buildings directive includes a requirement that all new buildings occupied and owned by public authorities after 31 December 2018 shall be nearly zero energy buildings. The recast must be implemented by 8 July 2013 and we will consult on its implementation in due course.

Social Rented Housing: Sales

Karen Buck: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government 
	(1)  how many residential properties have been sold by registered social landlords in each region in each of the last five years for which figures are available;
	(2)  how many residential properties were disposed of by each registered social landlord by auction or open market sale in each of the last five years for which figures are available.

Andrew Stunell: Figures on the number of sales of social housing stock by registered social landlords are given in the following table:
	
		
			  Units sold 
			   Number 
			 2005-06 18,147 
			 2006-07 21,768 
			 2007-08 20,252 
			 2008-09 14,697 
			 2009-10 15,891 
			  Source:  Regulatory and Statistical Return. Part K lines 4, 9, 13 (columns 1 and 2), 22 and 23 (2006-07 to 2009-10) Part K lines 5, 8, 11 (columns 1 and 2), 21 and 22 (2005-06). 
		
	
	These data include sales of properties by registered social landlords through right to buy, right to acquire, shared ownership initial sales, social homebuy and disposals to the private sector. Sales to another registered provider are not included. A regional breakdown of these sales by registered social landlords is not available nor are figures on whether properties are sold via auction or open market.

Tenancy Deposit Schemes

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government whether his Department has plans to bring forward proposals to improve Tenancy Deposit Schemes.

Grant Shapps: My Department will be working closely with external partners to refine and improve the operation of insurance-based tenancy deposit schemes as part of our work to ensure schemes are in place beyond March 2013, when the current schemes' service concession agreements come to an end.

PRIME MINISTER

Departmental Pay

Lisa Nandy: To ask the Prime Minister what information his Office holds on the number of sub-contracted staff servicing his Office who were not paid at a rate equivalent to or above the London living wage in the latest period for which figures are available.

David Cameron: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by the Minister for the Cabinet Office and Paymaster General, my right hon. Friend the Member for Horsham (Mr Maude), on 31 January 2011,  Official Report, column 604W.

Rupert Murdoch

Paul Farrelly: To ask the Prime Minister whether  (a) he and  (b) staff of 10 Downing street have met (i) Rupert Murdoch, (ii) James Murdoch, (iii) Rebekah Wade and (iv) other individuals representing (A) News International and (B) News Corporation and (C) BSkyB since 4 November 2010.

David Cameron: A list of official meetings by Ministers with external organisations is published quarterly and a list of official hospitality at Chequers is published annually. James Murdoch and his wife received official hospitality at Chequers on 7 November 2010. I have met Rebekah Wade and James Murdoch at social occasions. Decisions on the BSkyB merger are entirely a matter for the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport, my right hon. Friend the Member for South West Surrey (Mr Hunt). The Prime Minister has no role or involvement. I was not party to the Secretary of State's decision ahead of his announcement on 25 January 2011,  Official Report, column 3WS. Staff of 10 Downing street have meetings with a wide range of organisations and individuals on a range of subjects.

FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH AFFAIRS

Arms Trade: Treaties

Tony Baldry: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs 
	(1)  what his policy is on the required  (a) scope and  (b) parameters of the proposed Arms Trade Treaty;
	(2)  what assessment he has made of the merits of including brokering activities within the scope of transfers regulated by the proposed Arms Trade Treaty;
	(3)  what assessment he has made of the merits of including small arms ammunition on the list of equipment to be regulated by the proposed Arms Trade Treaty.

Alistair Burt: The Government are committed to securing a robust and effective arms trade treaty that meets its foreign policy priorities of safeguarding Britain's national security and building prosperity. The precise content of an arms trade treaty is currently the subject of a UN negotiation which concludes in 2012; the Government continue to develop their negotiating position ahead of the next Preparatory Committee meeting commencing on 28 February 2011; it is therefore not appropriate for me to specify the detail of the UK's negotiating position at this stage.

Arms Trade: Treaties

Tony Baldry: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will include his plans for the Arms Trade Treaty negotiations in his forthcoming Building Stability Overseas strategy.

Alistair Burt: The flow of illicit weapons into conflict affected and fragile states is an issue of significant concern. Officials from the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, the Department for International Development and the Ministry of Defence are currently consulting widely on the Building Stability Overseas Strategy, including with external experts and key partners, before confirming the final content.

British Overseas Territories

Madeleine Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what requirement there is on the Secretary of State to consider the effect on British Overseas Territories of legislation enacted by Parliament.

Henry Bellingham: There is no constitutional or statutory requirement on a Secretary of State to consider the effect of legislation enacted by Parliament on British Overseas Territories. However, as a matter of practice, at the time of drafting a Bill consideration is given to whether it: (i) should apply directly to the Overseas Territories; (ii) should contain a provision enabling it to be extended, modified as necessary, by Order in Council to them, or (iii) has no relevance to them and need not apply or have the possibility of future extension to them.
	Legislation which does not apply directly or has not been extended by Order in Council to the Overseas Territories has no application to those territories.

Departmental Consultants

Gregg McClymont: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how much his Department has spent on consultancy since May 2010.

Alistair Burt: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) employs consultants only when the necessary skills are unavailable from permanent FCO staff. We apply a strict value for money test to all consultancy use in line with central Government guidelines.
	The FCO spent £11.98 million on consultancy services between May and November 2010 (December 2010 data are not yet available). This was spent on practical projects to improve the FCO's global operations and provide better value for money for the taxpayer. It funded in particular the provision of the external technical expertise necessary to develop better IT systems and a more modern global estate. A significant proportion supported the Echo project, which is designed to deliver better and cheaper global IT services to the FCO and other Government Departments and save the taxpayer up to £90 million.

Diplomatic Service: Domestic Service

Jeremy Corbyn: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many diplomatic missions to the UK have asserted diplomatic immunity against investigations of the  (a) employment status and  (b) immigration status of domestic staff in each of the last three years.

Henry Bellingham: We are not aware of any such case during the last three years.

Egypt: Politics and Government

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent reports he has received on  (a) political unrest and  (b) disruption of internet and mobile phone communications in Egypt; if he will discuss with his Egyptian counterpart the merits of facilitating peaceful protest and maintaining freedom of speech and assembly; and if he will make a statement.

Alistair Burt: We are gravely concerned by the ongoing political unrest in Egypt and condemn the violence that is taking place in Cairo. If the regime were shown to be sponsoring or tolerating this violence it would be completely unacceptable. The scenes underline the need for political reform and for that process to be accelerated.
	Our embassy has been closely monitoring the situation, which has become increasingly dangerous with some areas of Cairo, Alexandria and Suez deteriorating into lawlessness. We regret the loss of life and continue to call for restraint on all sides. We have urged the Egyptian Government to avoid at all costs the use of violence against unarmed civilians and for demonstrators to be able to exercise their rights peacefully.
	Restrictions on freedom of expression, including the closure of internet access and mobile phone services, have only fuelled the anger of demonstrators and we have called on the Egyptian Government to lift those restrictions urgently.

Iran: Baha'i Faith

Madeleine Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions he has had with the government of Iran on the protection of human rights of people of the Baha'i faith in that country.

Alistair Burt: In 2010, I discussed human rights issues with the Iranian embassy on five occasions, including the unacceptable persecution of the Baha'is. Our embassy in Tehran also continues to raise this directly with the Iranian authorities, most recently on 12 December 2010.
	We will continue to remind Iran of the international commitments it has freely signed up to. We will also urge the Iranian Government to cease its harassment of the Baha'i minority and to respect the rights of other minority groups.

Kashmir

Craig Whittaker: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs pursuant to the answer of 29 November 2010,  Official Report, column 554W, on Kashmir, for what reasons his policy is that is not for the UK to mediate in seeking a lasting resolution to the situation in Kashmir.

Alistair Burt: We recognise the importance of finding a lasting solution to the situation in Kashmir but it is not for the UK to prescribe a solution nor to mediate in finding one. This has been the policy of successive British Governments and the history of the issue suggests it must be for India and Pakistan to resolve, taking into account the wishes of the Kashmiri people without any mediation by the UK.

North Africa: Human Rights

Jeremy Corbyn: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs on how many occasions his Department made representations to the governments of  (a) Egypt,  (b) Tunisia and  (c) Algeria on human rights issues in each of the last three years; and if he will make a statement.

Alistair Burt: The UK holds annual Strategic Dialogues with Egypt and Algeria at which a range of issues of concern to both sides are discussed, including human rights. Crucially, at the third Strategic Dialogue with Egypt this January, we raised our concerns about the 2010 parliamentary elections, in particular about media restrictions and cases of electoral irregularities. The issue of human rights also forms part of ongoing discussions between our embassies and the host Governments in the three countries concerned.
	The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Richmond (Yorks) (Mr Hague), addressed the issue during his visit to Egypt in November last year and I have personally raised the subject of human rights during my recent visits to Algeria and Tunisia as well as in my meeting with the Tunisian ambassador to London following his arrival in October 2010.
	At the European level, the issue of human rights has been a core component of negotiations with Tunisia with respect to its application for advanced status with the EU.
	The UK actively raises human rights concerns in the UN, including in the Human Rights Council. In the case of Egypt, the UK raised its concerns during the adoption of Egypt's Universal Periodic Review in June 2010.

Private Military and Security Companies: Regulation

Jeremy Corbyn: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs pursuant to the written ministerial statement of 16 November 2010,  Official Report, column 59WS, on private military and security companies, what  (a) process and  (b) timetable he plans to follow to appoint a trade association to monitor and audit compliance of a UK code of conduct for private military and security companies; and (i) by what means and (ii) against what baseline he intends to review his policy two years after its implementation to assess whether standards have been raised.

Henry Bellingham: In December 2010, two trade associations submitted proposals to fulfil the role of monitoring and auditing compliance of national standards for the UK Private Military and Security Company industry. These have been reviewed by Whitehall officials and proposals will shortly be considered by National Security Council members and thereafter announced to this House. At that stage we will provide further details, including how we will monitor compliance with the national code of conduct and establish the baseline for the two-year policy review.

TREASURY

Banks: Pay

Gregg McClymont: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what recent steps his Department has taken to reduce the level of executive remuneration in publicly-owned banks.

Mark Hoban: The Government have taken robust action to tackle unacceptable bonuses. Following agreement in the Capital Requirements Directive, measures taken include the revised Financial Services Authority (FSA) remuneration code, introduced on 1 January 2011 and covering all bonuses payable in the coming bonus round. Further, the new FSA remuneration disclosure rules were also introduced on 1 January 2011, with initial disclosures starting this year and covering remuneration paid in the 2010 financial year. In addition we have introduced the bank levy, higher capital and liquidity requirements, stronger resolution arrangements, the Independent Banking Commission and we continue to investigate the costs and benefits of a financial activities tax.
	We have made it clear to the banks in which the Government have a stake that they should have a smaller bonus pool than last year and that they should be a back-marker in the industry.

Cycle to Work Scheme

Gregg McClymont: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer by what mechanism other than monitoring take-up he evaluates the effectiveness of HM Revenue and Customs' cycle to work scheme.

David Gauke: HM Revenue and Customs administers the tax relief available when employers offer cycle to work schemes. The effectiveness of the relief is monitored through contact with employers' and industry representatives and in discussion with officials from other Government Departments.

Excise Duties: Fuels

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
	(1)  what recent representations he has received on the differential between duty levels applied to petrol and diesel; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  what assessment he has made of the likely effects of the fuel duty rates due to come into force on 1 April 2011 on road users in  (a) rural areas and  (b) England; and if he will make a statement.

Justine Greening: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given on 21 January 2011,  Official Report, column 1001W, and to the answers given on 17 January 2011,  Official Report, column 576W and 24 January 2011,  Official Report, column 117W, to the hon. Member for Glasgow North East (Mr Bain)
	The same rate of duty applies to petrol and diesel intended for road use.
	Motorists are affected by a range of measures to tackle the deficit and support growth including fuel duty. In the June Budget the Government asked the Office of Budget Responsibility (OBR) to undertake an assessment of the effect of oil price fluctuations on the public finances. The OBR published its report on 14 September. The Government are considering the OBR's assessment.

Excise Duties: Fuels

Zac Goldsmith: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether implementation of his proposals to reform fuel duty will be revenue-neutral.

Justine Greening: Decisions about tax policy are a matter for the Chancellor as part of the Budget process.

Excise Duties: Wines

Dan Rogerson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what his estimate is of the cost to the public purse of wine fraud in the latest period for which figures are available; and what recent steps he has taken to mitigate wine fraud.

Justine Greening: holding answer 31 January 2011
	No specific estimate is made of the level of fraud in wine. When the alcohol strategy was renewed last year it was extended to address all categories of alcoholic drinks and not just spirits, the only drinks covered by the previous strategy. In the first nine months from implementation of the renewed strategy HMRC and UKBA have seized over 1.8 million litres of illicit wine. The 'Tackling Alcohol Fraud' strategy which was implemented from 1 April 2010 addresses fraud in all alcoholic drinks including wine.

Financial Inclusion Fund: Halifax

Linda Riordan: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many people in Halifax have received assistance from the Financial Inclusion Fund in the last 12 months.

Mark Hoban: The Financial Inclusion Fund supports a number of different projects. Data from the projects are not reported in a way that allows us to measure the impact of every project in a specific area.
	Data for the Financial Inclusion debt advice project show that, over a 12-month period (1 January to 31 December 2010), 139 debt advice clients were seen by debt advisers based in Halifax.
	Data for the Financial Inclusion Growth Fund show that Calderdale Credit Union, which covers Halifax, made 2,494 affordable loans to the value of £1,601,065 over the same 12-month period.
	The Government are working closely with the Consumer Financial Education Body (soon to be known as the Money Advice Service) to take a preventative approach-so that consumers can better manage their own finances and avoid getting into unsustainable debt. This includes creating Britain's first free national financial advice service, including an annual financial healthcheck.

Income Tax: Sunderland

Bridget Phillipson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many residents of Sunderland were in each income tax band in the most recent year for which figures are available.

David Gauke: Estimates of the number of taxpayers in the local government district of Sunderland, categorised by their highest marginal tax rate for 2007-08, the latest year available, are provided in the following table.
	
		
			  Number of taxpayers in Sunderlan d 
			  Tax year 2007-08  Number( 1) 
			 Starting rate 17,000 
			 Basic rate 120,000 
			 Higher rate 8,000 
			 All taxpayers 144,000 
			 (1) Rounded to the nearest thousand  Notes: 1. Table shows number of taxpayers in the local government district of Sunderland by their highest marginal tax rate. 2. Estimates at each rate do not sum to the total due to rounding.  Source: Survey of Personal Incomes, 2007-08 See: http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/stats/income_distribution/inc-distribution-note.pdf

Income Tax: Tax Rates and Bands

Cathy Jamieson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
	(1)  if he will estimate the number of people in Kilmarnock and Loudoun constituency who will no longer pay income tax as a result of the increase in the personal allowance from 5 April 2011;
	(2)  what estimate he has made of the change in the number of people paying income tax at the 40 per cent. rate with effect from 5 April 2011 in  (a) Scotland, ( b) Kilmarnock and Loudoun constituency and  (c) each other parliamentary constituency.

David Gauke: In the June 2010 Budget, it was estimated that 880,000 persons would be taken out of tax in the United Kingdom as a result of the £1,000 increase in the personal allowance in 2011-12, of which an estimated 71,000 are in Scotland.
	The number of taxpayers paying income tax at the 40 per cent rate in 2011-12 in Scotland is projected to be 281,000, an increase of 47,000 compared with the published projection for 2010-11 (available on the HMRC website at the following address):
	http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/stats/income_tax/table2-2.pdf
	These estimates are based on 2007-08 Survey of Personal Incomes data projected to 2010-11 and 2011-12 in line with the June 2010 Budget assumptions.
	It not possible to produce reliable estimates for parliamentary constituencies due to small sample sizes at these levels of geography.

Loans

Chris Ruane: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what recent estimate he has made of the  (a) number and  (b) proportion of people who use payday loans in each (i) region, (ii) local authority and (iii) constituency.

Edward Davey: I have been asked to reply.
	This Department collects information from the YouGov Debt Track survey on the number and proportion of people both using payday loans and those that have applied for payday loans in the last six months.
	In October 2010, the most recent survey, it was estimated that less than 1% of the population currently had a payday loan and that approximately 0.5% had applied for a payday loan in the previous six months. The sample size of this survey (UK wide) is around 3,000-therefore it would be statistically unreliable to disaggregate the number of people who either hold or applied for a payday loan to a regional level (or beyond that, to local authority or constituency level).
	Consumer Focus reviewed the payday loan market in 2010. They estimated that around 1.2 million adults took out a payday loan in 2009. They estimated the size of the market at £1.2 billion with each payday loan being worth on average £292.

Personal Savings

Chris Ruane: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he has made a recent estimate of the  (a) number and  (b) proportion of people in each (i) region, (ii) local authority area and (iii) constituency who have no savings.

Mark Hoban: The Wealth and Assets Survey includes data on the distribution of net household financial wealth by region. Results for 2006-08, the latest year for which data are available, can be found in the Wealth in Great Britain: Main results report, by ONS. Data are not available for breakdowns at local authority and constituency levels within this report.

Sovereign Support Grant

Kerry McCarthy: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer pursuant to the answer of 18 January 2011,  Official Report, column 756W, on the Sovereign Support Grant, whether he plans to introduce the primary legislation to establish the Sovereign Support Grant before the summer adjournment.

Justine Greening: I have nothing to add to my previous answer.

DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER

Devolution

Mark Durkan: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what plans he has for the future of the Memorandum of Understanding between the UK Government and the devolved Administrations.

Nicholas Clegg: The Memorandum of Understanding was last updated in March 2010. It is kept under annual review by the Government and the devolved Administrations through the Joint Ministerial Committee on Devolution.

Electoral Register: Social Security Benefits

Guto Bebb: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister if he will assess the likely effects on the accuracy and completeness of the electoral register of requiring benefit claimants to be on the electoral register to be eligible for benefits.

Mark Harper: The Government have no current plans to conduct such an assessment. However, we are committed to speeding up the implementation of individual electoral registration and later this year as part of that we will be trialling data matching-comparing the electoral register against other public databases to find individuals missing from the register and allow EROs to encourage them to register. If these trials are successful we will roll data matching out nationally, which will improve the accuracy and completeness of the electoral register.

Ministerial Policy Advisers

Philip Davies: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister which staff he has appointed to advise him on strategy from outside the civil service since June 2010; and what their  (a) areas of responsibility and  (b) dates of appointment are.

Nicholas Clegg: I have appointed a number of special advisers who advise me on a range of issues including strategy. Details of these appointments are published on the Cabinet Office's website:
	www.cabinetoffice.gov.uk

WORK AND PENSIONS

Departmental Telephone Services

Tom Greatrex: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will estimate the average number of calls per  (a) day,  (b) week and  (c) month to his Department's 0800 2888 777 number for contacting Atos in relation to work capability assessments.

Chris Grayling: Atos Healthcare has confirmed that the average number of inbound calls relating to work capability assessments are:
	 (a)-2,002 per day
	 (b)-14,014 per week
	 (c)-56,056 per month

Departmental Telephone Services

Tom Greatrex: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many staff responsible for answering his Department's 0800 2888 777 number for contacting Atos in relation to work capability assessments were absent  (a) on annual leave and  (b) due to illness on 18 January 2011.

Chris Grayling: Atos Healthcare has confirmed that on 18 January 2011 there were:
	 (a)-six full time equivalent (FTE's) on annual leave which equates to approximately 10.5% absence; and
	 (b)-two FTE's on sick leave which equates to approximately 3.5% absence.

Departmental Telephone Services

Tom Greatrex: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many staff are employed to answer his Department's 0800 2888 777 number for contacting Atos in relation to work capability assessments.

Chris Grayling: Atos Healthcare has confirmed that they currently have 64 staff which equates to 57 full time equivalent's employed in the activity on answering and making calls in the Virtual Contact Centre.

Employment Schemes: Alcoholic Drinks and Drugs

Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions 
	(1)  whether he plans to establish separate work programmes for those with a history of alcohol and drug misuse from 31 March 2011;
	(2)  if he will ensure that contractors for the Work Programme are required to achieve a minimum success rate for placing into work those with a history of alcohol and drug misuse.

Chris Grayling: This Government will offer every support for people to choose full recovery as an achievable way out of dependency-so that they get off drugs and alcohol for good.
	Where appropriate, customers with a history of drug or alcohol dependency will receive personalised support through the Work Programme, the providers of which will need to work closely with the drug and alcohol treatment sector while demonstrating that they have the specialist expertise needed to deliver employment services to this group. In the interim the Government will ensure that adequate support is in place for customers to ensure a smooth transition to the Work Programme.
	In addition, the Government are giving separate consideration as to how to most effectively support people in drug and alcohol treatment into sustained employment. In particular, it has set out its ambition to pilot the use of payment by results to incentivise the drug treatment system to improve the delivery of sustained recovery outcomes, which will include employment.
	Minimum performance standards will apply to all Work Programme customer groups, including the groups for harder-to-help customers. However, there will be no specific minimum success rates for placing into work those customers with a history of drug and alcohol misuse.

Housing Benefit

Douglas Alexander: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what estimate was made of expenditure from the public purse on housing benefit in each year to 2015 as part of the  (a) Autumn forecast and  (b) June 2010 Budget forecast.

Steve Webb: The information requested is shown in the following table.
	
		
			  Housing benefit expenditure forecasts, Great Britain 
			  £ million (nominal) 
			   Autumn forecast (a)  June 2010 Budget (b) 
			 2010-11 21,477 21,536 
			 2011-12 22,002 21,928 
			 2012-13 22,022 21,830 
			 2013-14 21,361 21,220 
			 2014-15 21,912 21,909 
			 2015-16 22,553 22,432 
			  Notes: 1.Housing benefit figures include that element funded from local authorities' own funds. 2. The Department's detailed benefit expenditure tables, including forecasts to 2015, published following the Office for Budget Responsibility's publication of their autumn forecasts on 29 November 2010 can be found at: http://research.dwp.gov.uk/asd/asd4/index.php?page=expenditure Earlier forecasts (including June 2010 Budget) can also be found at the same address.

Housing Benefit

Simon Kirby: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions which local authorities have been working with his Department on the simplification of housing benefit letters to claimants.

Steve Webb: The Department has been working with a number of local authorities to make letters that inform customers of housing benefit and council tax benefit decisions easier to understand. The authorities are Bradford metropolitan district council, Chelmsford borough council, Eastbourne borough council, Elmbridge borough council, Great Yarmouth borough council, Leicester city council and Wolverhampton city council. The results of this work will be publicised to all local authorities.

Housing Benefit

Teresa Pearce: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people will be affected by the proposal to cap housing benefit for working age tenants in the social rented sector based on family size in  (a) Erith and Thamesmead constituency,  (b) Greater London and  (c) in total.

Steve Webb: Impact assessments, which will include the number of households affected, will be published at the usual time to accompany the relevant legislation when introduced in Parliament.

Housing Benefit: Brent

Barry Gardiner: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what discussions he has had with housing officers at the London borough of Brent on the anticipated changes in the number of homeless families as a result of the changes to housing benefit rates.

Steve Webb: We have not discussed the impact of the 2011 changes to local housing allowance rates independently with the London borough of Brent. We have however planned a series of the conferences for all local authority housing benefit managers to provide them with information about the changes in 2011. These events will promote awareness of the toolkit of products, including detailed guidance, we will be providing for local authorities. To reduce the risk of households becoming homeless we have a substantial package of financial and practical support in place, worth £190 million over the spending review period. We are giving existing customers up to nine months' transitional protection so that they have time to look for alternative accommodation if they need to.
	We are also widening local authority discretion to pay housing benefit direct to the landlord if it would help the customer secure a new tenancy or remain in their current home at a reduced rent.

Jobcentre Plus: Internet

Valerie Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what steps his Department is taking to ensure that information provided on Jobcentre Plus websites is up-to-date and accurate.

Chris Grayling: A key priority for the Department around the provision of customer information is to ensure that it is both accurate and up-to-date across both online and offline channels.
	The information on departmental websites, including Directgov since the Jobcentre Plus website closed, is subject to the Accuracy of Information framework. This framework is audited by the Department's Risk Assurance Division (RAD) who seek assurance from the nominated Senior Responsible Office (SRO) within the Department that information is correct. The Department, in turn, seeks assurance from the businesses, including Jobcentre Plus, that information is correct.
	The Department's content on Directgov is reviewed annually, or more frequently if, for example, a policy changes. The review process requires the owner of the policy to confirm the accuracy of the information developed by them, or in collaboration with them, before it is published on Directgov. Responsibility for obtaining this assurance rests with DWP Communications.
	Content on Businesslink is also reviewed by policy owners at least once a year or more frequently if, for example, a policy changes.

Social Security Benefits: Fraud

Teresa Pearce: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions pursuant to the answer of 4 November 2010,  Official Report, columns 936-37W, on social security benefits: fraud, how many of the calls received by the National Benefit Fraud Helpline and passed to  (a) the Fraud Investigation Service and  (b) Customer Compliance in each of the last five years were dealt with and closed within (i) 0 to four weeks, (ii) one to two months, (iii) two to four months, (iv) four to six months, (v) six to eight months, (vi) eight to 10 months, (vii) 10 to 12 months, (viii) more than one year, (ix) more than 15 months and (x) more than two years.

Chris Grayling: The information requested is not available.

State Retirement Pensions

Dominic Raab: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions when he plans to publish a Green Paper on the proposed single tier state pension.

Steve Webb: The Government are currently examining all aspects of state pension to identify options that could lead to a more simple and straightforward system. Final decisions have not yet been made.
	Any proposals for reforming the system will be subject to consultation.

State Retirement Pensions: Uprating

Valerie Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what recent representations he has received on the proposed change in the indexation of the state pension from retail prices index to consumer prices index.

Steve Webb: The Department has received a number of such representations.
	In response to a request for evidence on the suitability of the Consumer Prices Index for measuring pensioner inflation, I have placed in the Libraries copies of a paper "Analysis of the relative suitability of the Retail Prices Index (RPI) and the Consumer Prices Index (CPI) for reflecting cost of living increases for pensioners".
	Although the indexation of additional state pension will change from the RPI to the CPI, this year we propose that the basic state pension is increased in line with the RPI, and thereafter by the highest of the CPI, average earnings, or 2.5%.

Telereal Trillium

Alun Cairns: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many contracts his Department has with Telereal Trillium; and what the monetary value is of all contracts his Department has with Telereal Trillium.

Chris Grayling: The Department has one contract with Telereal Trillium, a 20 year PFI contract in 1998 for the provision of fully fitted and serviced accommodation for which the Department pays an all inclusive unitary charge. The spend through this contract was £782,949,478 in 2009-10.
	The scope of the services provided by Telereal Trillium include the provision of all accommodation occupied by DWP, and the services encompass building maintenance, life cycle works, energy/utilities management and environment, internal re-organisation and churn, porterage, security, health and safety, furniture and equipment, catering/security facilities and equipment, catering, waste management, internal and external cleaning, room booking service, and landscape maintenance.

Telereal Trillium

Alun Cairns: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many complaints his Department has received from landlords whose properties are managed through a contract between his Department and Telereal Trillium in the latest period for which figures are available.

Chris Grayling: The information requested is not recorded centrally and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

Winter Fuel Payments

Paul Maynard: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions whether he plans to review the September qualifying deadline for the £400 winter fuel payment for those turning 80 years old with a view to moving it to later in the year.

Steve Webb: The qualifying week is set in legislation as the third full week in September. We use this date so that we can establish entitlement, undertake the necessary checks and make payments before Christmas. The Government believe that making payments by Christmas every year is helpful in reassuring pensioners that they will have money available to pay for heating their homes during the coldest part of the year. We have no plans to change the qualifying week.

Work Capability Assessment

David Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will implement Professor Harrington's recommendations relating to the work capability assessment in full.

Chris Grayling: We welcome the first independent review of the WCA, led by Professor Malcolm Harrington. This is a thorough review that has reviewed a substantial amount of evidence. As a result, Professor Harrington has come forward with a wide range of far reaching and challenging proposals which the Government fully support.
	We are committed to taking forward the review's recommendations so that we can make the system fairer and more effective. The Government response to Professor Harrington's review sets out how and when we will implement the recommendations of the review, almost all of which will be in place in time for the national roll-out of the incapacity benefits reassessment programme.

Work Capability Assessment

Valerie Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what training is provided to staff responsible for the medical assessment of applicants for employment and support allowance.

Chris Grayling: The four stages of the training and approval process for health care professionals are:
	Stage 1-pre-course reading and an office based, trainer led event
	Stage 2-a written assessment of medical knowledge
	Stage 3-supervised practical training and appraisal
	In this stage the health care professional carries out assessments under the supervision of an experienced trainer where the emphasis is on:
	customer service
	medical assessment techniques, and
	report completion skills
	Stage 4-Appraisal of casework
	During the period of provisional approval, the health care professional's trainer will assess all reports completed by the health care professional until his or her competence is assured.

Work Capability Assessment

Tom Greatrex: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions on how many occasions a Jobcentre Plus decision-maker did not follow the advice of an approved health care professional when making a decision on an individual's eligibility for employment and support allowance in the latest period for which figures are available.

Chris Grayling: Employment and support allowance (ESA) was introduced in October 2008. A key factor in determining eligibility for ESA is the Work Capability Assessment (WCA). The WCA is carried out by health care professionals employed by Atos Healthcare. A report of the WCA is then sent to Jobcentre Plus.
	Jobcentre Plus decision makers (JCP DMs) have to consider all the available information before making a decision on benefit entitlement. Any additional evidence provided by a customer's GP or consultant is important and is fully considered as part of this process.
	The Department therefore holds information on both the recommendation made by Atos Healthcare at assessment and separate information on the JCP DM's final decision. We can determine where the decision differs but not why the decision was changed or whether a case was returned for reconsideration. Where the final JCP DM decision differs to the original Atos recommendation we refer to the decision being a result of 'at reconsideration' which may or not involve a return of the case to Atos.
	The number of people for whom Atos recommended they be placed in the Work Related Activity Group (WRAG) and the Support Group (SG) and additional people who were placed in the WRAG or SG based on the JCP DM decision is presented in the following table. Please note that the impact of appeals is not included.
	
		
			  Table 1: ATOS recommendations of placement in the ESA Work Related Activity Group and additional people placed in the ESA Work Related Activity Group at rec onsideration by Jobcentre Plus decision m aker 
			  Number 
			  Claim start month  WRAG- based on ATOS r ecommendation  Additional people placed in WRAG at reconsideration by JCP DM 
			  2008   
			 October 1,200 80 
			 November 5,700 370 
			 December 5,420 330 
			
			  2009   
			 January 7,450 460 
			 February 6,920 450 
			 March 8,050 580 
			 April 7,750 600 
			 May 7,820 580 
			 June 8,480 690 
			 July 8,690 740 
			 August 8,120 710 
			 September 8,840 840 
			 October 8,160 860 
			 November 7,900 780 
			 December 6,850 660 
			
			  2010   
			 January 8,800 830 
			 February 8,300 700 
			 March 8,670 700 
			 April 8,020 690 
			 May 7,110 620 
			 Total 148,270 12,230 
		
	
	
		
			  Table 2: ATOS recommendations of placement in the ESA Support Group and additional people placed in the ESA Support Group at reconsideration by Jobcentre Plus decision maker 
			  Number 
			  Claim start month  SG-based on ATOS recommendation  Additiona l people moved to SG- at reconsideration 
			  2008   
			 October 670 40 
			 November 2,670 250 
			 December 2,440 240 
			
			  2009   
			 January 2,960 300 
			 February 2,660 300 
			 March 3,000 340 
			 April 2,900 320 
			 May 2,970 330 
			 June 3,040 370 
			 July 3,480 350 
			 August 3,030 340 
			 September 3,430 320 
			 October 2,950 350 
			 November 3,030 320 
			 December 2,660 280 
			
			  2010   
			 January 3,040 290 
			 February 2,810 260 
			 March 3,150 290 
			 April 2,950 250 
			 May 2,680 230 
			 Total 56,480 5,770

Work Capability Assessment

Natascha Engel: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many work capability assessment claim closures there have been in each month since October 2008.

Chris Grayling: The following table lists all outcomes from initial work capability assessments (WCA) nationally, for employment and support allowance claims starting in the months shown. This table is taken from the published official statistics report "ESA: Work Capability Assessment Statistical Release January 2011". The "Claim closed before assessment complete" column shows all new claims for ESA that were closed before the WCA process was completed.
	The Department has commissioned qualitative research into ended ESA claims, which will include interviews with a sample of people whose claim was closed by Jobcentre Plus before they completed assessment for ESA. A report of this research will be published in the DWP research report series in spring 2011.
	
		
			  Monthly ESA on-flows by month of claim start and result of initial functional assessment 
			   Support group  Work related activity group  Fit for Work  Claim closed before assessment complete  Assessment still in progress  Total 
			  Month of claim start  N o.  %  N o.  %  N o.  %  N o.  %  N o.  %  N o.  % 
			 October 2008 700 8 1,200 13 3,600 39 3,700 40 100 1 9,300 100 
			 November 2008 2,900 6 5,900 13 17,500 39 18,200 41 200 1 44,800 100 
			 December 2008 2,700 7 5,600 14 15,200 38 16,600 41 200 1 40,300 100 
			 January 2009 3,200 6 7,700 15 21,000 39 21,000 39 300 1 53,300 100 
			 February 2009 2,900 6 7,200 15 19,800 40 19,200 39 400 1 49,500 100 
			 March 2009 3,300 6 8,400 15 23,500 41 20,900 37 500 1 56,700 100 
			 April 2009 3,200 6 8,200 16 21,800 42 18,800 36 500 1 52,400 100 
			 May2009 3,300 6 8,200 15 22,000 41 19,100 36 400 1 53,100 100 
			 June 2009 3,400 6 9,000 16 22,700 40 21,200 37 ' 600 1 56,800 100 
			 July 2009 3,800 7 9,300 16 22,800 40 21,200 37 700 1 57,700 100 
			 August 2009 3,300 6 8,700 17 20,400 40 18,600 36 600 1 51,600 100 
			 September 2009 3,700 7 9,500 17 21,800 39 19,400 35 800 2 55,300 100 
			 October 2009 3,300 6 8,900 17 21,200 40 18,900 36 1,100 2 53,300 100 
			 November 2009 3,300 6 8,500 16 20,500 39 18,600 36 1,300 2 52,300 100 
			 December 2009 2,900 7 7,400 17 16,800 38 16,100 36 1,300 3 44,500 100 
			 January 2010 3,300 6 9,500 17 21,900 39 20,100 35 1,900 3 56,700 100 
			 February 2010 3,100 6 8,900 16 21,400 39 18,700 34 2,500 5 54,500 100 
			 March 2010 3,400 6 9,200 15 23,100 39 20,400 34 3,500 6 59,700 100 
			 April 2010 3,200 6 8,600 16 20,300 37 18,200 34 4,100 8 54,300 100 
			 May 2010 2,900 6 7,600 15 18,700 36 17,700 34 5,700 11 52,500 100 
			 Total 61,800 6 157,600 16 396,100 39 366,600 36 26,500 3 1,008,600 100 
			  Source: Benefit claims data held by the Department for Work and Pensions and functional assessment data sourced from Atos Healthcare. 
		
	
	The Department regularly publishes official statistics on ESA and the WCA, the latest report was published in January 2011. Further information is available in the report which can be found on the internet at the following link:
	http://research.dwp.gov.uk/asd/workingage/esa_wca/index.php?page=esa_wca_arc

Work Capability Assessment

Natascha Engel: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions 
	(1)  how many people who made a claim for employment and support allowance (ESA) and who were found fit for work at assessment have had an appeal heard by the Tribunals Service in each month since ESA assessments began;
	(2)  what proportion of people who have undergone a work capability assessment have been found fit to work at appeal in each month since October 2008.

Chris Grayling: Information on the number of people who are found fit for work, who then appeal the decision at a hearing with Ministry of Justice and the result of the appeal is published. The full publication can be found here:
	http://research.dwp.gov.uk/asd/workingage/index.php?page=esa_wca
	Table 3 of the publication which relates specifically to fit for work decisions and appeals is reproduced as follows:
	
		
			  WCA appeals heard on 'Fit for Work' decision (initial assessments only) 
			  Month of claim start  Fit for Work  Appeals heard(to date)  Percentage fit for work with an appeal heard  (to date)  Decision in favour of appellant  DWP decision upheld  Percentage decision in favour of appellant  DWP decision upheld 
			 October 2008 3,600 1,500 41 600 900 40 60 
			 November 2008 17,500 7,200 41 2,800 4,400 40 60 
			 December 2008 15,200 6,400 42 2,700 3,800 41 59 
			 January 2009 21,000 8,900 42 3,600 5,300 40 60 
			 February 2009 19,800 8,100 41 3,300 4,800 41 59 
			 March 2009 23,500 9,400 40 3,800 5,500 41 59 
			 April 2009 21,800 8,300 38 3,400 4,900 41 59 
			 May 2009 22,000 8,000 36 3,200 4,800 40 60 
			 June 2009 22,700 7,600 33 3,100 4,500 41 59 
			 July 2009 22,800 7,100 31 2,700 4,300 39 61 
			 August 2009 20,400 5,600 28 2,200 3,500 39 61 
			 September 2009 21,800 5,300 24 2,000 3,300 37 63 
			 October 2009 21,200 4,100 19 1,400 2,600 35 65 
			 November 2009 20,500 2,800 14 900 2,000 31 69 
			 Total 273,900 90,300 33 35,800 54,600 40 60

ENVIRONMENT FOOD AND RURAL AFFAIRS

Forests

Karl Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what recent representations she has received on the sale of land managed by the Forestry Commission in England.

Siobhain McDonagh: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what recent representations she has received on the sale of land managed by the Forestry Commission in England.

Alan Whitehead: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what recent representations she has received on the sale of forest and woodland managed by the Forestry Commission in England.

Caroline Spelman: Since the beginning of October last year we have received over 4,200 representations on the sale of the public forest estate.

Forests

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs which forests in the North East she is considering for sale as part of the disposal of the public forest estate.

Caroline Spelman: We have recently published the selection criteria for woodland in the Forestry Commission's 2011-12 asset sales programme. The Forestry Commission is currently identifying woods which meet these criteria and so no further details are available at this time. Details of woodlands to be sold in subsequent years will only be developed once the public forest estate consultation has concluded.

Rural Payments Agency

Rory Stewart: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what progress she has made on improving the performance of the Rural Payments Agency.

James Paice: Progress continues to be made in addressing the unhappy legacy which is described vividly in the independent review of RPA published last year. Despite the issues arising from the updating of farmer's maps and reduced staff numbers, the RPA met its target to pay 85% of 2010 SPS claimants by the end of December. But there is still much to do and it will inevitably take some time to fully address longstanding problems.

Common Fisheries Policy

Sheryll Murray: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what plans she has for reform of the Common Fisheries Policy; and if she will make a statement.

Richard Benyon: The common fisheries policy is broken. It has failed to deliver healthy fish stocks and a sustainable living for fishermen. We need radical reform, to simplify and decentralise fisheries management, building in the right incentives for fishermen to operate sustainably and profitably, and cutting the terrible waste of discards.
	We are working with other member states, stakeholders and EU institutions to build support for radical reform ahead of negotiations later this year.

Global Food Security

George Freeman: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what recent discussions she has had on global food security; and if she will make a statement.

Caroline Spelman: Last week I spoke at the launch of Sir John Beddington's Foresight report on global food security. The report is clear that with almost one billion people hungry and significant environmental degradation business as usual is not sustainable.
	The UK Government are determined to show international leadership on this issue. We are committed to international development and better functioning global markets, along with improving agriculture productivity. These are critical issues for CAP reform and the G20 this summer.

Crayfish

Mark Tami: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what steps her Department is taking to conserve the white-clawed crayfish population through the establishment of native-only refuge sites; and if she will make a statement.

Richard Benyon: DEFRA has no direct role in the identification or establishment of refuge sites. However, Natural England and the Environment Agency are supporting white clawed crayfish refuge site creation projects within the regions. They are currently finalising a best practice/guidance document on decision-making in the placement and establishment of Ark sites, and other conservation requirements. Natural England is currently funding a Countdown 2010 project in south-west England involving a captive rearing programme at Bristol Zoo, the identification of Ark sites and reintroduction of white-clawed crayfish to a number of sites across the south-west.
	Guidance on the creation of Ark sites has been drawn up by Buglife, and Ark site creation projects have been carried out by Buglife and the Peak District National Park, funded by Natural England through DEFRA'a Aggregates Levy Sustainability Fund.
	The Environment Agency is working in partnership with Buglife to create a crayfish website to draw together information on crayfish in the UK. The website will provide guidance for the general public and professionals working in the field.

Crayfish

Mark Tami: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what estimate her Department has made of the size of the signal crayfish population in each of the last 5 years.

Richard Benyon: DEFRA has not made an assessment of the size of the signal crayfish population in England. However, the Environment Agency records presence/absence or numbers of individuals on an ad hoc basis as part of fisheries survey programmes, or biological monitoring work for WFD and other directives. The agency does not make quantitative estimates of population size, but works to understand the geographic spread of this non-native species.

Crayfish

Mark Tami: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what  (a) advice and  (b) guidance her Department provides to (i) the Environment Agency and (ii) other relevant agencies on control of the signal crayfish population.

Richard Benyon: The non-native species framework strategy for Great Britain sets out the Government's broad policy approach to invasive non-native species. As signal crayfish are well established, complete eradication is no longer achievable. Therefore, our policy is to look toward methods to manage this species in the long term, minimising its spread and mitigating the consequent negative impacts where feasible.
	DEFRA has had representation, through its executive agency CEFAS, on the native crayfish Biodiversity Action Plan steering group, which has disseminated advice on DEFRA policy to other agencies represented on the group (EA, Natural England, CCW), and to the wider community researching or managing crayfish populations. CEFAS additionally provides advice to other agencies and the public in respect of the legislation applicable to signal crayfish (and other alien crayfish) management and control within England and Wales.

Departmental Carbon Emissions

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what recent steps her Department has taken to reduce its carbon emissions to meet the target of reducing central Government carbon emissions by 10% by June 2011.

Richard Benyon: DEFRA is committed to reducing carbon emissions from its estate and has taken a number of actions through the 10% CO2 reduction initiative to implement projects which will improve its performance and deliver further savings.
	To date, improvements have been made to a number of buildings across the DEFRA estate. Improvements to plant controls and Building Management Systems (BMS); improved insulation; and installation of energy efficient technologies such as voltage optimisation, boiler optimisation, and low energy lighting, are examples of initiatives implemented to meet the target.
	These initiatives have been supported by the introduction of a 19° C winter heating temperature set point across the DEFRA estate, tighter control of heating and lighting times and staff awareness campaigns which have encouraged participation and support. These campaigns have enabled the Department to identify additional ideas for delivering further savings and help to embed culture change.
	Delivery of the 10% CO2 target is enabling DEFRA to demonstrate its commitment to reducing CO2 emissions. This follows on from its achievement of the Sustainable Operations on the Government Estate (SOGE) 2010 target for carbon reduction from offices in 2009, where it met and exceeded the target. DEFRA is now less than 0.5% away from achieving the 2020 target of a 30% reduction in its CO2 emissions. Since 2006, the Department has delivered an average 4% reduction year on year 2006 to 2009 and a 12.5% reduction in 2009-10.
	DEFRA's CO2 reduction performance is a direct result of the implementation of measures identified through its ongoing Carbon Reduction Programme. Since 2006, this programme has identified and reduced excessive energy consumption across the network estate. This has been delivered through a structured approach to the analysis and benchmarking of energy consumption data and a focus on quick win, high carbon saving projects. DEFRA's achievements have often set the benchmark for the sustainability industry. Specific achievements have been recognised through Carbon Trust Standard, BREEAM outstanding ratings and internationally through CoreNet Global.

Departmental Libraries

Michael Weir: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many  (a) certified and  (b) chartered librarians her Department has employed in each year since its creation.

Richard Benyon: The number of certified and charted librarians employed in DEFRA and its agencies on 31 December of each year is shown in the following table:
	
		
			  Number 
			   Certified  Chartered 
			 2004 0 9 
			 2005 1 10 
			 2006 1 9 
			 2007 1 8 
			 2008 1 8 
			 2009 1 7 
			 2010 1 7 
		
	
	The information for years prior to 2004 is not held.

Departmental Working Conditions

Mike Freer: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what her Department's policy is on  (a) the space provided per employee,  (b) home working and  (c) hot desking; how many employees it has on average per desk; and how much space on average there is per employee.

Richard Benyon: DEFRA policy on space provided per employee in offices is to target 8m(2) per person accommodated and an occupancy ratio of 1.3 employees per desk space.
	DEFRA policy allows home working subject to business need. DEFRA operates hot desking in its buildings.
	Performance confirming how many employees DEFRA has on average per desk and space per employee is published annually in the annual State of the Estate report, which is laid before Parliament. The latest report is the 2009 report, which was published by the Office of Government Commerce in March 2010.

Fisheries

Madeleine Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment she has made of the effectiveness of catch-quota schemes in reducing the discarding of fish; and if she will make a statement.

Richard Benyon: In 2010, the UK ran two voluntary trials in England and Scotland to test the effectiveness of the catch quota system at reducing discards of cod in the North sea. Six vessels participated in England and 17 in Scotland.
	Initial results from both trials indicate that the catch quota system is very effective at reducing discards of cod. For UK vessels, the three year (2007-09) average discard rate for cod in the North sea was 51%-in comparison the discard rates for participants in the English trial were between 1% and 7%. A full analysis of the results of both trials will be available in the spring.
	The UK is running an expanded catch quota trial in 2011 for North sea cod and south-west sole.

Fishing Vessels

Zac Goldsmith: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what her policy is on the creation of a global record of fishing vessels.

Richard Benyon: We continue to strongly support the creation of a global record of fishing vessels, refrigerated transport vessels, and supply vessels, as proposed by the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO). We hope that, once operational, the global record will be a powerful tool in combating illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing, by significantly improving transparency in the ownership, operation, and activity of fishing vessels, and the vessels that support them.

Forestry Commission

Barry Gardiner: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what tracts of land have been sold by the Forestry Commission since 1997; what the  (a) area in hectares,  (b) sale price,  (c) sale date and  (d) biodiversity value was of the land sold in each case; and, where such land was forested, what the type of forest cover was.

James Paice: I have placed documents in the House Library detailing the area of land sold since 1997 by calendar year from 1997 to 2002 and by date of sale from 2003 to 2010. The total receipts from these sales (by financial year) from 2000-01 to 2009-10 are given in the table.
	Biodiversity value and forest type of any woodland sold was not specifically recorded, but sales were chosen on the basis of the land making a relatively limited contribution to Forestry Commission objectives and providing limited added value from public ownership in the delivery of public benefits. Other information on the land sales since 1997 is not held centrally and could be gathered only at a disproportionate cost. Where the sale was completed more than five years ago the records may have been destroyed.
	
		
			  Financial year  Receipts from sale of properties( 1)  (£)  Area (Ha) of sale of properties( 2) 
			 2000-01 2,232,000 202 
			 2001-02 5,537,000 464 
			 2002-03 2,754,000 582 
			 2003-04 1,532,000 663 
			 2004-05 5,863,000 369 
			 2005-06 2,123,000 780 
			 2006-07 5,686,000 1,050 
			 2007-08 6,093,000 1,024 
			 2008-09 3,391,000 407 
			 2009-10 7,734,000 1,175 
			 (1) Figures from Forest Enterprise England annual accounts (includes woodland, buildings and development land). (2) Figures from Deeds Management System (includes woodland, buildings and development land).

Industrial Health and Safety

Alok Sharma: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what progress her Department has made in reviewing the health and safety regulations for which it is responsible since her appointment.

James Paice: Lord Young's review of health and safety laws and the compensation culture "Common Sense, Common Safety" carried out for the Prime Minister was published on 15 October 2010.
	Actions to implement Lord Young's recommendations are being taken forward across Government in line with the timetable set out in the report.
	The review made no specific recommendations for the Department and no further review of health and safety legislation has been carried out and there are no plans to do so at this stage.

Rights of Way

Barry Gardiner: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what information her Department holds on which local authorities employ officers dedicated to the implementation of public rights of way.

Richard Benyon: DEFRA does not hold information on which local authorities employ officers dedicated to public rights of way.

Salmon

Mark Tami: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what estimate her Department has made of salmon stocks in rivers in each of the last five years.

Richard Benyon: The Environment Agency carries out a wide range of assessment and monitoring activities on salmon rivers in England and Wales; this includes annual assessments of both juvenile fish and returning adults. Catch data, and information from adult counters and traps where these are available, are used to make an annual compliance assessment of the salmon spawning success on each river, measured against river-specific 'targets'.
	These and other measures of stock status are published annually in a report compiled jointly by the Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science (CEFAS) and the Environment Agency. The most recent report, a copy of which will be placed in the Library, provides data for 2009, but includes information on salmon stock status over a longer time period, including the last five years. Data for 2010 have not yet been collated.

ENERGY AND CLIMATE CHANGE

Biofuels

Simon Wright: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what recent discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Transport on the use of imported biofuels.

Gregory Barker: Ministers have regular discussions on a range of issues which includes the deployment of sustainable biofuels.

Carbon Emissions: EU Action

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change if he will take steps to ensure that the EU target to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by between 80 and 95 per cent. by 2050 is maintained as a stand alone commitment; and if he will make a statement.

Gregory Barker: The Government are committed to making the transition to a low carbon economy both in the UK and EU. We support the EU target to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 80-95% by 2050 which mirrors our own domestic commitment. DECC's work to explore the 'pathways to 2050', which is published on our website, has ensured the UK continues to be at the forefront of the debate on meeting the 2050 targets.

Carbon Reduction Commitment Energy Efficiency Scheme

Huw Irranca-Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what assessment his Department has made of the financial effects on owners of private electricity and gas networks who become liable to pay the cost of the carbon reduction commitment tariff in cases where one or more of their tenants holds a climate change agreement.

Gregory Barker: The Government have not undertaken any additional assessment on the financial and regulatory costs of the CRC Energy Efficiency Scheme since publication of the final impact assessment in January 2010. The final impact assessment estimated the net benefits overall of the scheme to be £3,800 million. The Government have begun an informal dialogue with scheme participants and other stakeholders on simplification of the scheme. This dialogue will help to inform future proposals for changes to the legislation underpinning the scheme, including in relation to the interaction between the CRC scheme and climate change agreements.

Coal Fired Power Stations

Dan Byles: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change how many coal-fired power stations were in operation in the latest period for which figures are available; and what estimate he has made of the number of coal-fired power stations there will be in  (a) 2020 and  (b) 2030.

Charles Hendry: The latest figures show that there are 17 major coal fired power stations operating in the UK (as at the end of May 2010), equivalent to a capacity of 23 Gigawatts(1).
	Of the 17 major coal-fired stations that are currently operational, six are scheduled to close by 2015 under the large combustion plant directive.
	There is no projection available on the number of operating coal-fired power stations. However, the central projection for the capacity of major coal fired power stations in 2020 is 18 Gigawatts. This includes those with carbon capture storage technology. Coal power stations currently vary widely in size (from 0.4 to 3.8GW), if it is assumed that the coal power stations in 2020 are all 1.7GW (the current average size) this would equate to 10-11 stations.
	DECC do not make projections on 2030. However, the projection for 2025 is 12 Gigawatts, assuming the same average size this equates to 7 to 8 power stations(2).
	 Source s
	(1) Table 5.11, Digest of United Kingdom Energy Statistics 2010
	(2) DECC Updated Emissions Projections, Annex L, June 2010

Electricity

Esther McVey: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what discussions his Department has had with the National Grid on the installation of an underground electricity cable between Scotland and England via Wirral; and if he will make a statement.

Charles Hendry: The Department regularly discusses electricity network policy issues with stakeholders including National Grid, however DECC does not have a role in approving specific transmission investments. The approval of grid investment projects is a matter for the transmission owners and Ofgem. Ofgem are currently seeking further information on the proposed West Coast undersea link from National Grid and Scottish Power to enable them to take a decision on approving funding for the investment.

Energy

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change if he will introduce a target to achieve a 20% or greater reduction in primary energy use through energy efficiency measures by 2020 as part of the EU Energy Efficiency Action Plan; and if he will make a statement.

Gregory Barker: The EU has already adopted (in 2007) an indicative EU-wide target to reduce primary energy use by 20% by 2020 compared with "business as usual" through improvements in energy efficiency. This target provides the context for the European Commission's forthcoming review of the EU Energy Efficiency Action Plan which is scheduled for publication soon. The Government do not believe additional energy efficiency targets are needed.

Energy Supply

Huw Irranca-Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change 
	(1)  what representations he has received on off-grid energy supply between 1 June 2010 and 10 December 2010;
	(2)  whether he has received any recent representations on pricing in the off-grid energy market.

Charles Hendry: As I noted in the fuel poverty debate on 19 January 2011,  Official Report, columns 255-79WH, there have been a significant number of representations on the domestic oil market from the public and hon. Members of Parliament. I fully recognise the difficulties people have experienced with rising prices and supply problems, as set out in my written ministerial statement on 21 January 2011,  Official Report, columns 55-56WS. I welcome the independent assessment of the off-grid market by the Office of Fair Trading, and I look forward to seeing its conclusions in advance of next winter so the lessons from this winter can be learned and any necessary changes made.

Energy: Prices

Christopher Pincher: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change if he will bring forward proposals to protect consumers who enter into fixed-term energy contracts from large early termination penalties.

Charles Hendry: Currently we have no plans to bring forward the proposals the hon. Member asks about. The setting of termination fees is a contractual matter between the supplier and the customer. The fees are designed to cover the costs incurred by the supplier when a customer switches away before the end of the fixed-term contract.
	Ofgem are currently consulting on fixed-term contract practices in the domestic supply market.

Fuel Poverty

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change who the chair of the fuel poverty review is.

Gregory Barker: An announcement about the Independent Reviewer will be made in due course.

Fuel Poverty

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change when he expects the Government's fuel poverty review to report.

Gregory Barker: We expect the Review of Fuel Poverty to report by the end of the year.

Global Warming Policy Foundation

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what  (a) meetings and  (b) discussions he and Ministers in his Department have had with representatives of the Global Warming Policy Foundation in the latest period for which information is available.

Gregory Barker: Neither the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, myself or my fellow Ministers in the Department have had meetings or discussions with representatives of the Global Warming Policy Foundation.

Natural Gas and Oil

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change if he will request the European Council not to authorise an assessment of the potential for the extraction and use of  (a) shale gas and  (b) oil shale; and if he will make a statement.

Charles Hendry: The Government are committed to the EU moving to a low-carbon, energy secure and competitive economy by 2050, and in particular that it meets its objective of reducing greenhouse gas emission levels by 80% to 95% by then. However, fossil fuels will remain a vital part of the transition to a low-carbon economy and the EU therefore needs to do all it can to understand what fossil fuels may be available so that member states can take informed decisions about their most efficient and sustainable use.

Renewable Energy: Heating

Annette Brooke: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what plans he has to subsidise renewable heat energy.

Gregory Barker: We expect to be in a position to announce the details of the renewable heat incentive (RHI) scheme shortly and to be open for business from 2011.

CABINET OFFICE

Social Security Benefits: Advisory Services

Chris Ruane: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office whether he plans to allocate additional resources to voluntary sector benefit advice agencies during the period of reductions in public sector expenditure.

Edward Davey: I have been asked to reply.
	The Government are directing at least £470 million over the spending review period to support capacity building in the voluntary sector, including a £100 million Transition Fund as short-term support for voluntary sector organisations providing public services.

HOME DEPARTMENT

Anti-Semitism

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to the answer of 6 July 2010,  Official Report, column 195W, on anti-Semitism, if she will make it her policy to collect details of  (a) victims and  (b) alleged offenders of anti-Semitic crime; and if she will make a statement.

James Brokenshire: The Coalition programme for government included a commitment to improve the recording of hate crime offences. This has been implemented and the official collection of this data will begin in April 2011. This collection of data will cover the five 'monitored' hate crime strands and, at this time, it will not be possible to disaggregate this data down further. We will continue discussions with the police to see whether it is feasible to break this data down further so that anti-Semitic hate crime can be collected. These discussions will have to include whether the disaggregation of this data will add to the bureaucratic burden on police officers, which is something the Government have committed to reduce.
	The Community Security Trust (CST) and the Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO) National Community Tension Team (NCTT) collect data on reports of anti-Semitic hate crime and will continue to do so. The ACPO NCTT data, published on 30 November 2010 showed that there were 703 anti-Semitic hate crimes in calendar year 2009. The latest figures from the CST will be released in the near future.

Anti-Semitism

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if she will commission a report from the Commissioner of Police for the Metropolis on allegations of anti-Semitic comments made at the National Campaign Against Fees and Cuts protest on 29 January 2011; whether any arrests have been made in consequence of such allegations; and if she will make a statement. [R]

James Brokenshire: The Government deplore any instances of anti-Semitism and are committed to tackling it. We have no plans to commission a report from the Commissioner of Police for the Metropolis. The police are operationally independent of the Government so any questions on arrests at the National Campaign Against Fees and Cuts, which took place in Manchester, would need to be directed to the chief constable of Greater Manchester police.

Asylum

Bridget Phillipson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether gender-related persecution claims are considered as claims unlikely to be accepted into the fast track detention process for asylum seekers.

Damian Green: Entry to the detained fast track procedure is determined by reference to published policy. The policy lays out categories of claimant who, for reasons of particular vulnerability, are excluded from entry to the process. These reasons include late pregnancy, significant ill-health and where the applicants are accepted as victims of trafficking or torture. For all other claimants, the key factor determining entry to the process is whether a quick, fair and sustainable decision can be taken on the case.
	The question of suitability for entering the process is considered on a case-by-case basis, based on what is known about the individual and their claim.

Asylum

Bridget Phillipson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many asylum seekers of each country of origin have participated in the detained fast track process in each year for which figures are available.

Damian Green: The following tables show the number of asylum applicants who have been accepted in a fast track centre by nationality and location, for the years in which data are available.
	Further information on asylum fast track detainees is available in Supplementary Tables 2r to 2u of Control of Immigration: Annual Bulletin, United Kingdom 2009 in the Library of the House and the Home Office's Research, Development and Statistics website at:
	http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/immigration-asylum-stats.html
	
		
			  Principal asylum applicants accepted at fast track centres, by country of nationality, 2001-09( 1,2) 
			  Number of principal applicants 
			   2001  2002  2003  2004  2005 
			  Country of nationality  Oakington  Oakington  Oakington  Harmondsworth  Oakington  Harmondsworth  Yarl's Wood  Oakington 
			 Albania 450 335 190 40 140 20 5 80 
			 Macedonia 10 70 20 n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a 
			 Moldova * 5 105 n/a 70 n/a n/a 35 
			 Russia * n/a n/a n/a 20 10 5 15 
			 Turkey * 840 865 85 605 95 5 340 
			 Ukraine 185 145 155 n/a 70 n/a n/a 25 
			 Bulgaria * 30 10 n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a 
			 Cyprus n/a 5 n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a 
			 Czech Republic 710 645 40 n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a 
			 Estonia 20 10 n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a 
			 Hungary 5 n/a 10 n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a 
			 Latvia 80 125 20 n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a 
			 Lithuania 110 200 20 n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a 
			 Poland 430 460 35 n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a 
			 Romania 345 335 195 n/a 110 n/a n/a 40 
			 Slovakia 40 75 10 n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a 
			 Other Former USSR (8)- (8)- (8)- (8)- (8)- (8)- (8)- (8)- 
			 Armenia n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a 5 n/a n/a 
			 Belarus n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a 10 5 n/a 
			 Georgia n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a 15 n/a n/a 
			 Kazakhstan n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a 
			 Uzbekistan n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a 
			 Other Europe (8)- (8)- (8)- (8)- (8)- (8)- (8)- (8)- 
			 Croatia n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a 
			 Kosovo n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a 
			 Serbia and Montenegro(4) n/a n/a 180 5 70 5 n/a 50 
			 Federal Republic of Yugoslavia(4) 390 265 n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a 
			 Colombia n/a n/a n/a n/a 15 15 n/a 20 
			 Ecuador n/a n/a 20 n/a 25 n/a n/a n/a 
			 Jamaica * * 340 95 220 85 10 160 
			 Other Americas (8)- (8)- (8)- (8)- (8)- (8)- (8)- (8)- 
			 Bolivia 15 15 15 n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a 
			 Brazil 10 15 10 n/a 25 n/a n/a n/a 
			 Cuba n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a 
			 Guyana n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a 
			 Algeria n/a n/a n/a 10 65 10 n/a 50 
			 Angola n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a 10 n/a n/a 
			 Burundi * n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a 
			 Cameroon 155 140 n/a 45 100 35 5 60 
			 Congo n/a 40 10 5 25 10 n/a 10 
			 Dem. Rep. of Congo * n/a n/a 10 30 35 5 85 
			 Eritrea n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a 5 295 
			 Ethiopia n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a 20 n/a n/a 
			 Gambia n/a n/a n/a 25 45 30 5 25 
			 Ghana 95 120 100 125 135 75 10 75 
			 Ivory Coast 65 80 65 25 125 5 n/a 110 
			 Kenya 100 80 25 5 35 5 5 35 
			 Liberia n/a n/a 10 10 35 15 5 35 
			 Libya n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a 5 n/a n/a 
			 Nigeria 405 450 300 165 540 250 55 270 
			 Rwanda * n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a 
			 Sierra Leone 20 25 n/a n/a 20 10 n/a 15 
			 Somalia * n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a 25 
			 Sudan n/a n/a n/a n/a 10 15 n/a n/a 
			 Tanzania 30 10 10 n/a n/a 5 n/a n/a 
			 Uganda 225 190 65 50 110 55 20 45 
			 Zimbabwe 1,260 865 25 n/a n/a 20 n/a 90 
			 Other Africa (8)- (8)- (8)- (8)- (8)- (8)- (8)- (8)- 
			 Chad n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a 
			 Egypt n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a 20 n/a n/a 
			 Guinea n/a n/a n/a 5 25 25 n/a 15 
			 Guinea-Bissau n/a * n/a 5 n/a n/a n/a n/a 
			 Malawi n/a * 50 35 55 30 15 35 
			 Mauritania n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a 5 n/a n/a 
			 Mauritius n/a n/a n/a 5 n/a n/a n/a n/a 
			 Morocco n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a 
			 Namibia n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a 
			 Senegal n/a n/a 10 5 n/a n/a n/a n/a 
			 South Africa * 10 85 n/a 50 n/a n/a 55 
			 Togo n/a * 10 5 15 20 n/a 25 
			 Tunisia n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a 5 n/a n/a 
			 Zambia * n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a 
			 Iran * n/a n/a n/a 10 15 5 190 
			 Iraq 1,030 75 65 n/a n/a n/a n/a 40 
			 Syria n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a 10 n/a 10 
			 Other middle east (8)- (8)- (8)- (8)- (8)- (8)- (8)- (8)- 
			 Israel n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a 
			 Lebanon n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a 5 n/a n/a 
			 Palestine n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a 10 n/a n/a 
			 Afghanistan 5 20 295 25 330 105 n/a 315 
			 Bangladesh 190 155 190 5 205 45 5 130 
			 China(5) 1,335 1,155 670 45 1,330 25 n/a 1,075 
			 India 750 805 1,015 35 915 5 n/a 665 
			 Pakistan 640 485 270 130 305 185 25 225 
			 Sri Lanka * 30 235 5 160 n/a n/a 215 
			 Vietnam n/a n/a n/a n/a 85 n/a n/a 110 
			 Other Asia and Oceania (8)- (8)- (8)- (8)- (8)- (8)- (8)- (8)- 
			 Burma (Myanmar) n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a 5 n/a n/a 
			 Hong Kong * n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a 
			 Malaysia n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a 
			 Mongolia n/a n/a n/a 10 45 10 5 25 
			 Nepal n/a n/a n/a n/a 20 15 n/a n/a 
			 Philippines n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a 
			 South Korea n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a 
			 Other nationalities(6) 5 55 85 90 245 90 35 180 
		
	
	
		
			  Number of principal applicants 
			   2006  2007 
			  Country of nationality  Harmondsworth  Yarl's Wood  Oakington  Harmondsworth  Yarl's Wood  Oakington( 3) 
			 Albania 25 n/a 40 5 5 5 
			 Macedonia n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a 
			 Moldova n/a n/a 5 n/a n/a 5 
			 Russia 15 5 5 5 n/a n/a 
			 Turkey 105 25 20 30 15 5 
			 Ukraine n/a n/a 15 n/a 5 5 
			 Bulgaria n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a 
			 Cyprus n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a 
			 Czech Republic n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a 
			 Estonia n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a 
			 Hungary n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a 
			 Latvia n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a 
			 Lithuania n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a 
			 Poland n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a 
			 Romania n/a n/a 15 n/a n/a n/a 
			 Slovakia n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a 
			 Other Former USSR (8)- (8)- (8)- (8)- (8)- (8)- 
			 Armenia n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a 
			 Belarus 15 5 n/a 5 5 n/a 
			 Georgia 10 5 n/a 5 n/a n/a 
			 Kazakhstan n/a n/a n/a 5 n/a n/a 
			 Uzbekistan 10 n/a n/a 5 n/a n/a 
			 Other Europe (8)- (8)- (8)- (8)- (8)- (8)- 
			 Croatia n/a n/a n/a 5 n/a n/a 
			 Kosovo n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a 5 
			 Serbia and Montenegro(4) 5 n/a 10 n/a n/a n/a 
			 Federal Republic of Yugoslavia(4) n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a 
			 Colombia 20 5 n/a 10 5 n/a 
			 Ecuador n/a n/a 5 n/a 5 n/a 
			 Jamaica 25 10 50 10 25 15 
			 Other Americas (8)- (8)- (8)- (8)- (8)- (8)- 
			 Bolivia n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a 
			 Brazil n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a 
			 Cuba n/a n/a n/a 5 n/a n/a 
			 Guyana n/a n/a n/a 5 n/a n/a 
			 Algeria 20 n/a 25 10 5 n/a 
			 Angola n/a n/a n/a 5 5 n/a 
			 Burundi n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a 
			 Cameroon 20 20 30 20 20 n/a 
			 Congo 10 5 n/a n/a n/a n/a 
			 Dem. Rep. of Congo 15 5 30 5 10 n/a 
			 Eritrea 10 n/a 280 n/a n/a n/a 
			 Ethiopia 5 n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a 
			 Gambia 30 15 15 10 10 5 
			 Ghana n/a 10 45 10 15 10 
			 Ivory Coast 10 5 45 n/a 5 n/a 
			 Kenya 20 10 10 10 15 5 
			 Liberia 15 n/a n/a n/a n/a 5 
			 Libya 5 n/a 5 5 n/a n/a 
			 Nigeria 75 75 210 25 75 45 
			 Rwanda n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a 
			 Sierra Leone 10 5 5 n/a 10 n/a 
			 Somalia n/a n/a 5 n/a n/a n/a 
			 Sudan 35 n/a 5 5 n/a n/a 
			 Tanzania n/a n/a n/a n/a 5 n/a 
			 Uganda 35 20 n/a 20 20 5 
			 Zimbabwe n/a n/a n/a n/a 5 5 
			 Other Africa (8)- (8)- (8)- (8)- (8)- (8)- 
			 Chad 5 n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a 
			 Egypt 5 n/a n/a 5 5 n/a 
			 Guinea 20 5 n/a 5 5 n/a 
			 Guinea-Bissau n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a 
			 Malawi 15 10 n/a 5 10 5 
			 Mauritania n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a 
			 Mauritius n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a 
			 Morocco n/a n/a n/a 5 n/a n/a 
			 Namibia n/a 5 n/a n/a n/a n/a 
			 Senegal n/a n/a 5 n/a n/a n/a 
			 South Africa 5 n/a 15 5 10 10 
			 Togo 5 5 n/a n/a 5 n/a 
			 Tunisia 10 n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a 
			 Zambia n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a 
			 Iran 10 15 110 20 10 n/a 
			 Iraq n/a n/a 20 5 n/a n/a 
			 Syria 5 n/a 5 5 n/a n/a 
			 Other middle east (8)- (8)- (8)- (8)- (8)- (8)- 
			 Israel n/a n/a n/a 5 n/a n/a 
			 Lebanon 5 n/a 5 n/a n/a n/a 
			 Palestine n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a 
			 Afghanistan 115 n/a 95 80 n/a 5 
			 Bangladesh 140 n/a 30 80 5 10 
			 China(5) 25 20 515 45 55 5 
			 India 10 n/a 370 5 20 135 
			 Pakistan 155 30 30 155 55 5 
			 Sri Lanka 15 10 175 45 30 15 
			 Vietnam n/a n/a 10 5 n/a n/a 
			 Other Asia and Oceania (8)- (8)- (8)- (8)- (8)- (8)- 
			 Burma (Myanmar) n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a 
			 Hong Kong n/a n/a n/a 5 n/a n/a 
			 Malaysia n/a n/a n/a 5 5 n/a 
			 Mongolia 5 n/a 25 n/a 5 n/a 
			 Nepal 25 5 n/a 5 n/a n/a 
			 Philippines n/a n/a n/a 5 n/a n/a 
			 South Korea n/a n/a n/a 5 5 n/a 
			 Other nationalities(6) 90 55 35 45 40 15 
		
	
	
		
			  Number of principal applicants 
			   2008  2009( 7) 
			  Country of nationality  Harmondsworth  Yarl's Wood  Harmondsworth  Yarl's Wood 
			 Albania 20 * 40 5 
			 Macedonia - - - - 
			 Moldova 5 5 * * 
			 Russia 10 5 * * 
			 Turkey 45 10 55 10 
			 Ukraine 5 5 10 5 
			 Bulgaria - - - - 
			 Cyprus - - - - 
			 Czech Republic - - - - 
			 Estonia - - - - 
			 Hungary - - - - 
			 Latvia - - - - 
			 Lithuania - - - - 
			 Poland - - - - 
			 Romania - - - - 
			 Slovakia - - - - 
			 Other Former USSR 15 10 15 5 
			 Armenia n/a n/a n/a n/a 
			 Belarus n/a n/a n/a n/a 
			 Georgia n/a n/a n/a n/a 
			 Kazakhstan n/a n/a n/a n/a 
			 Uzbekistan n/a n/a n/a n/a 
			 Other Europe 5 * 10 * 
			 Croatia n/a n/a n/a n/a 
			 Kosovo n/a n/a n/a n/a 
			 Serbia and Montenegro(4) n/a n/a n/a n/a 
			 Federal Republic of Yugoslavia(4) n/a n/a n/a n/a 
			 Colombia 5 * 5 - 
			 Ecuador * * - - 
			 Jamaica 30 25 35 15 
			 Other Americas 20 15 30 15 
			 Bolivia n/a n/a n/a n/a 
			 Brazil n/a n/a n/a n/a 
			 Cuba n/a n/a n/a n/a 
			 Guyana n/a n/a n/a n/a 
			 Algeria 25 5 20 * 
			 Angola * * - * 
			 Burundi - - - * 
			 Cameroon 10 10 5 * 
			 Congo 5 - 5 * 
			 Dem. Rep. of Congo 5 5 5 * 
			 Eritrea - * - - 
			 Ethiopia * n/a - 5 
			 Gambia 5 10 20 10 
			 Ghana 15 15 15 10 
			 Ivory Coast 5 - * * 
			 Kenya 10 20 15 15 
			 Liberia - - 5 - 
			 Libya 10 * 5 - 
			 Nigeria 85 75 140 45 
			 Rwanda * * - * 
			 Sierra Leone 5 5 * 5 
			 Somalia - * - * 
			 Sudan * - - - 
			 Tanzania 5 5 5 5 
			 Uganda 30 15 30 30 
			 Zimbabwe * 5 5 5 
			 Other Africa 80 50 75 70 
			 Chad n/a n/a n/a n/a 
			 Egypt n/a n/a n/a n/a 
			 Guinea n/a n/a n/a n/a 
			 Guinea-Bissau n/a n/a n/a n/a 
			 Malawi n/a n/a n/a n/a 
			 Mauritania n/a n/a n/a n/a 
			 Mauritius n/a n/a n/a n/a 
			 Morocco n/a n/a n/a n/a 
			 Namibia n/a n/a n/a n/a 
			 Senegal n/a n/a n/a n/a 
			 South Africa n/a n/a n/a n/a 
			 Togo n/a n/a n/a n/a 
			 Tunisia n/a n/a n/a n/a 
			 Zambia n/a n/a n/a n/a 
			 Iran 10 10 30 20 
			 Iraq 20 * 15 - 
			 Syria * - * - 
			 Other middle east 10 5 5 - 
			 Israel n/a n/a n/a n/a 
			 Lebanon n/a n/a n/a n/a 
			 Palestine n/a n/a n/a n/a 
			 Afghanistan 180 5 380 - 
			 Bangladesh 85 5 100 10 
			 China(5) 50 90 75 90 
			 India 30 15 120 20 
			 Pakistan 245 55 320 60 
			 Sri Lanka 40 15 5 5 
			 Vietnam 10 * 5 * 
			 Other Asia and Oceania 30 10 25 15 
			 Burma (Myanmar) n/a n/a n/a n/a 
			 Hong Kong n/a n/a n/a n/a 
			 Malaysia n/a n/a n/a n/a 
			 Mongolia n/a n/a n/a n/a 
			 Nepal n/a n/a n/a n/a 
			 Philippines n/a n/a n/a n/a 
			 South Korea n/a n/a n/a n/a 
			 Other nationalities(6) - - - - 
			 n/a = not available (1) Figures rounded to the nearest five ( - = 0, * = 1 or 2). (2) Harmondsworth fast track centre opened in 2004; Yarl's Wood Fast Track centre opened in 2005. (3) The detained non-suspensive appeal process for females at Oakington moved in 2008 to Yarl's Wood alongside the female detained fast track process already there. (4) Serbia and Montenegro replaced Federal Republic of Yugoslavia from 5 February 2003. Serbia and Montenegro comprises Republic of Serbia, Republic of Montenegro, and Kosovo. (5) Figures for China in 2008 and 2009 include Taiwan. (6) 'Other nationalities' data include figures for nationalities not listed here (2001-07) and unknown nationalities for all years. In 2008 and 2009, other nationalities are counted in 'Other Europe', 'Other Americas', 'Other middle east', 'Other Asia and Oceania' and 'Other Africa'. (7) Provisional figures (8) Not applicable

Departmental Art Works

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many pieces of artwork her Department has moved since May 2010.

Damian Green: Since May 2010 no pieces of artwork owned by the Home Office in its headquarters have been moved. The Government Art Collection is responsible for moving the Government Art in the building on loan to the Department. Since May 2010 a piece of public art situated in the building's water feature was moved by the PFI supplier at its own expense for security reasons.

Departmental Furniture

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how much her Department has spent on furniture since May 2010.

Damian Green: Home Office Headquarters at Marsham street has spent £41,000 plus VAT on furniture since May. 50% of this was used to support the move of additional staff into the building as part of an estate rationalisation plan that delivers greater value for money from our office accommodation.

Departmental Procurement

Jon Trickett: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what single tender contracts her Department has awarded since her appointment; and what the monetary value is of each contract above the EU public procurement threshold.

Damian Green: The Home Department acquires goods and services through open and fair competition unless there are compelling reasons to the contrary. The Home Department has awarded the following single tender contracts since May 2010:
	RS-740 Directional Capability
	Repair of Fieldpro 5X Thermal Imaging Camera
	Air Products gases and gas bottles
	Universal digital CCTV replay software
	Toppings of fields at Sandridge
	Laboratory gases safety awareness workshops and connecting regulators
	Intruder Alarm systems annual maintenance
	Removal of L3 Provision Body Scanner Unit
	Juno test and evaluation unit and training session
	Premiair AS355 Space Pod-RSI700 Approvals
	Facility hire for HOSDB trials
	Vessel Arrest Launcher VA10/Vessel Arrest fence
	TracER-532-6W Compact Forensic Laser System
	Saliva-based Drug Tests at the Point-of-Arrest and extension
	Support for management of "FALL" image data
	Delivery of processed explosives to HOSDB site
	V-OVG live CW/explosive calibration Vapour Generator
	UV camera and IRIS software integration
	Monitor and report on developments in XML specifications to IST/44 and HODSB and ensure timely and effective definition of UK portion for input
	Workshops at University of Glamorgan
	Access to Caerwent facility
	FALCON hand held detector for hidden explosives and contraband. FALCON visual display
	Use of Millbrook track and facilities
	Flight trial over using C-VON Inc RS700 system. Fuel bowser and radio support/operator at Caerwent. STC modification for RS705
	Research Project looking at CCTV imagery format structure
	Flexible ballistics shield including removable armoured plates
	Trial facilities
	Health and Safety assessment of activities associated with examining chemicals at Heathrow and provisional advice on PPE and engineering controls
	Preliminary review on strategic options for the closure of FSS
	Community training tackling violence against women and girls.
	The monetary value of one contract and its extension, on research on advanced non-bio chips for saliva-based drug tests, at a total value of £120,244 was above the EU public procurement threshold.

Departmental Video Recordings

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how much her Department has spent on film production, including the filming of speeches, since May 2010.

Damian Green: Film is used throughout the Home Office and its agencies for training purposes and to communicate with staff. The total cost of film production is not information which is either centrally held or readily collated so could be gathered only at disproportionate cost.

Detention Centres: Children

Jeremy Corbyn: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many children are held in immigration detention; and how many were so held in each month since September 2010.

Damian Green: As at 30 September 2010, the latest date for which National Statistics have been published, five children were detained solely under Immigration Act powers. This figure is rounded to the nearest five.
	The latest published management information for the numbers of children entering detention, held solely under Immigration Act powers were: 15 in October 2010, three in November 2010 and three in December 2010.
	These figures may include age disputed cases.
	The Home Office publishes National Statistics on the number of persons detained solely under Immigration Act powers on a quarterly and annual basis and management information on the number of children entering detention, held solely under Immigration Act powers, by month, which are available from the Library of the House and from the Home Office's Research, Development and Statistics website at:
	www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/immigration-asylum-stats.html
	On 16 December 2010, the right hon. Member the Deputy Prime Minister (Mr Clegg) announced a new package to deliver the coalition commitment to end the detention of children for immigration purposes and the immediate closure of the family unit to children at the Yarl's Wood Immigration Removal Centre.
	The UK Border Agency will now follow a new four stage process focused on engagement with families during the decision making process, giving parents the opportunity to engage in when and how they return, when they have been found to have no legal right to stay in the UK. The new measures will ensure a family's return home is safe and dignified. Most elements of this new approach will be in place in March.

Entry Clearances: Appeals

Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what reasons her Department has identified for the doubling in the number of appeals against refusals of entry clearance between 2005 and 2006; and for what reasons the number of such appeals has remained broadly constant since 2006.

Damian Green: The Control of Immigration: Statistics 2006, does not specify a reason for the increase in appeals lodged and there was no change in the immigration rules that could account for the increase. It is possible that a change in the method of recording appeals in 2006 may have been a contributory factor. However, in spite of best endeavours, the Department has been unable to account reliably for this increase.
	The number of appeals reduced in 2010 due to the impact of the points-based system which attracts limited rights of appeal, on human rights and race relations grounds only.

Entry Clearances: Overseas Students

Jeremy Corbyn: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many entry visas her Department issued to non-EU nationals for the study of English as a second language in each year since 2006.

Damian Green: The information requested is not held centrally by the UK Border Agency. It could be provided by checking individual records, only at disproportionate cost.

Foreign Workers

David Evennett: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what estimate she has made of the number of non-EU nationals working in the NHS with an appropriate visa.

Damian Green: It is not possible to provide an accurate estimate of the number of non-EU nationals working in the NHS with an appropriate visa. This is because there are some migrants lawfully here who are free to access the labour market without informing the UK Border Agency where they are working at any given time.

Human Trafficking

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department which non-governmental organisations  (a) she has met to discuss and  (b) were consulted on the formulation and content of the Government's policy on human trafficking between 14 October 2010 and 15 December 2010; and if she will make a statement.

Damian Green: There were no ministerial discussions or consultations with non-governmental organisations about the forthcoming strategy during the period in question. However, initial discussions between officials and non-governmental organisations about the strategy took place at the UK Human Trafficking Centre Prevention Group.
	Internal work has been progressing on the human trafficking strategy and it is now being discussed with non-governmental organisations. I will be meeting them during this phase of developing the strategy.

Human Trafficking

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what consideration she gave to the consulting non-governmental organisations on the formulation and content of the Government's forthcoming policy on human trafficking between 15 December 2010 and 26 January 2011; and if she will make a statement.

Damian Green: Internal work has been progressing on the human trafficking strategy and we are now in the process of discussing it with voluntary sector organisations.

Human Trafficking

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if she will assess the compatibility of her Department's conduct of the consultation process on its policy on human trafficking with the Government's Big Society initiative; and if she will make a statement.

Damian Green: Internal work has been progressing on the human trafficking strategy and we are now in the process of discussing it with non-governmental organisations.
	The voluntary sector plays a key role in the provision of support to victims of human trafficking. We are strongly supportive of this role and will continue to work in partnership with voluntary organisations to reduce the incidence of human trafficking.

Ministers' Private Offices

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how much her Department has spent on redecorating ministerial offices since May 2010.

Damian Green: Since May 2010, an estimated £2,000 has been spent on repainting and maintaining the Department's ministerial offices.

Police: Demonstrations

Kerry McCarthy: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department 
	(1)  if she will review guidance to police forces on the practice of kettling in policing demonstrations; and if she will introduce procedures for her Department to monitor compliance by police forces with such guidance;
	(2)  what assessment she has made of the effectiveness of her Department's guidance to police forces on the use of kettling in policing demonstrations.

James Brokenshire: The use of police tactics, such as containment, is an operational matter for police forces. The courts have ruled that containment is a lawful tactic when used proportionately.
	The Association of Chief Police Officers has recently published revised guidance on public order policing which includes guidance on containment. Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary will shortly be publishing a report on how recommendations from its 2009 Adapting to Protest Report, including those on containment, have been met.

Police: Powers

Mike Weatherley: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what recent representations she has received on police powers on noise abatement rules in respect of the provisions of the Police Reform and Social Responsibility Bill.

James Brokenshire: The only measures relating to noise which the Government are bringing forward in the Police Reform and Social Responsibility Bill are focused on regulating the use of loudhailers on Parliament square. The Government have discussed these provisions with Westminster city council, the Greater London authority and the Metropolitan police service.

DEFENCE

Afghanistan: Peacekeeping Operations

Jim Murphy: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many  (a) C-17s,  (b) TriStars and  (c) VC10-s are owned and operated by the RAF; how many are serviceable at any one time; and how many have operated in the Afghan theatre in each month since January 2010.

Andrew Robathan: The available information is provided in the following table. In service aircraft includes those undergoing planned depth maintenance but excludes those which are redundant, declared as surplus or awaiting disposal. The forward fleet (FF) comprises aircraft which are serviceable or short-term unserviceable. Fit for purpose (FFP) aircraft include only serviceable aircraft available to the front-line commands for operational and training purposes. The number of aircraft available in each category varies according to normal fleet management activities including requirements for mandated maintenance and upgrade programmes. Figures for FF and FFP are monthly averages for 2010.
	
		
			   C-17  Tri S tar  VC10 
			  Month  In service fleet  Forward fleet  Fit for purpose  In service fleet  Forward fleet  Fit for purpose  In service fleet  Forward fleet  Fit for purpose 
			 January 6 5.3 3.6 9 4.9 2.9 15 12.5 6.2 
			 February 6 5.3 4.1 9 4.4 3.0 15 12.3 7.3 
			 March 6 5.1 4.4 9 5.3 2.5 15 11.9 6.3 
			 April 6 5.1 4.0 9 6.3 3.1 13 9.6 4.7 
			 May 6 5.5 4.3 9 5.5 2.0 13 10.3 6.1 
			 June 6 5.4 4.9 9 5.7 2.6 13 9.9 6.5 
			 July 6 5.6 5.2 9 5.7 2.4 13 9.7 5.5 
			 August 6 4.2 3.3 9 6 2.9 13 9.6 5.8 
			 September 6 4.4 3.8 9 6 3.6 13 10.6 6.9 
			 October 6 5.0 4.6 9 5 2.9 13 10.6 7.6 
			 November 6 5.2 4.7 9 4.9 2.7 13 10.5 6.4 
			 December 6 5.7 5.3 9 4.9 1.9 13 11.2 6.9 
		
	
	The number of aircraft operated each month in support of Operation Herrick cannot be broken down to individual airframe level. No VC10 has operated on the Airbridge since January 2010.

Armed Forces: Health Services

Jim Murphy: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether funding for the health for heroes campaign will be allocated to armed forces based in  (a) Scotland and  (b) Wales.

Andrew Robathan: "Health for heroes" is an informal reference that has recently been applied by the press to the medical care provided for the armed forces and ex-service personnel, with a particular emphasis on mental health care. We have a wide range of current and planned initiatives across Government to support serving and former members of the armed forces, such as the 'Fighting Fit' review by my hon. Friend the Member for South West Wiltshire (Dr Murrison) and our enhancements to health care services as part of the Strategic Defence and Security Review. Any enhancements to health care for serving members of the armed forces will be applicable wherever they are based in the UK, including Scotland and Wales.

Armed Forces: Mental Health Services

Jim Murphy: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether his proposal to increase compensation payments for ex-service personnel suffering mental health disorders will apply to service personnel based in  (a) Scotland and  (b) Wales.

Andrew Robathan: Yes. The increased payments will apply to all eligible personnel in the UK armed forces, regardless of where they are based.

Army

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the  (a) required,  (b) actual and  (c) fit-for-task strength is of each corps of the Army.

Andrew Robathan: In the table "required strength" and "actual strength" figures are shown as "funded liability" and "trained strength" respectively.
	"Fit for Task" has been interpreted as fit to deploy for any form of duty on deployment, including personnel listed as having limited deployability.
	"Funded Liability" means the number of personnel required in each corps. "Trained Strength" is the number of personnel in that corps who have completed initial training-which for the Army is Phase 1 and Phase 2 training-as at 1 November 2010. The trained strength will fluctuate according to the number of recruits successfully completing initial training and personnel leaving the Corps. The difference between "Trained Strength" and "Number Fit for Task" accounts for trained personnel who are classed as "non-deployable due to illness or injury."
	
		
			  Figures for the Regular Army( 1) 
			  Organisation  Funded liability  Trained strength  Number fit for task 
			 Staff 716 820 790 
			 Royal Armoured Corps 5,778 6,000 5,680 
			 Royal Artillery 7,632 7,710 7,220 
			 Royal Engineers 9,528 9,660 9,210 
			 Royal Signals 8,222 7,600 7,180 
			 Infantry 24,631 24,750 22,930 
			 Army Air Corps 2,016 2,140 2,050 
			 Royal Army Chaplains Department 150 130 120 
			 Royal Logistics Corps 15,487 15,420 14,230 
			 Royal Army Medical Corps 3,489 3,010 2,750 
			 Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers 9,741 10,010 9,430 
			 
			  Adjutant General's Corps
			 Provost 1,792 1,700 1,580 
			 Staff and Personnel Support 3,858 3,750 3,350 
			 Military Provost Service 139 110 110 
			 Educational and Training Services 317 340 310 
			 Army Legal Services 105 120 110 
			 Unspecified - 10 - 
			 
			 Royal Army Veterinary Corps 220 350 320 
			 Small Arms School Corps 153 160 150 
			 Royal Army Dentistry Corps 411 370 330 
			 Intelligence Corps 1,688 1,530 1,450 
			 Army Physical Training Corps 462 480 450 
			 Queen Alexandra's Royal Auxiliary Nursing Corps 1,318 900 790 
			 Corps of Army Music 907 790 750 
			 Long Service List 570 340 310 
			 (1) Trained strength and fit for task figures are rounded. These figures are provisional, and subject to review.

Artillery: Training

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how much ammunition was allocated to courses involving the training of artillery personnel and forward observation officers to call in fire in each year since 2008; and what the cost of such ammunition was.

Andrew Robathan: The amount and cost of ammunition allocated on all courses involving the training of artillery personnel and forward observation officers in each financial year since 2008 is shown in the following tables:
	
		
			  Financial year 2007-08 
			  Ammunition type  Quantity/cost 
			 Round 14.5MM Artillery Training Charge 2 L2A1 15,005 
			 Shell 105MM FD HE L31A3 Fuzed L116A1 W/Cart Normal L35A3 1,000 
			 Shell 105MM FD HE L31A4 Fuzed L106A4 W/Cart Normal L35A3 2,400 
			 Shell 105MM FD BE Smoke Screening L45A2 Fuzed L92A2 1 
			 Shell 105MM FD BE SMK SCR L45A2 FZD L92A2 W/Cart Nor L35A2 1 
			 Shell 105MM FD Marker Orange Smoke L38A2 Fuzed L32A3 825 
			 Cartridge Propelling 105MM FD Normal L35A3 144 
			 Cartridge Blank 105 MM FD 6OZ GP L48A1 26 
			 Cartridge Blank 105MM FD 12O Z GP L47A1 8 
			 Shell 155MM HE L21A2 Plugged 13,100 
			 Charge Propelling 155MM M3A1 12,190 
			 Charge Propelling 155MM M4A2 910 
			 Charge Propelling 155MM L10A1 Charge 8 W/Prim DM191A1 326 
			 Shell 155MM SMK BE DM105A2 FZD L132A1/CHGE L8A1/PRIM DM191A1 275 
			 Shell 155MM Illuminating DM106A2 Fuzed L132A1 102 
			 Shell 155MM Illum DM106A2 FZD L132A1/CHGE L8A1/PRIM DM191A1 321 
			 Shell 155MM Practice Inert L17A2 with PRF 326 
			 Fuze Nose Electronic Time ETF L132A1 2 
			 Fuze Nose Proximity and Percussion L116A1 920 
			 Fuze Nose Percussion Direct Action and Graze L160A1 12,180 
			 Primer Percussion DM191A1 326 
			 Primer Percussion M82 31,083 
			 MLRS Reduced Range Practice Rocket L1A1 74 
			   
			 Total cost (£) 14,139,251.10 
		
	
	
		
			  Financial year 2008-09 
			  Ammunition type  Quantity/cost 
			 Round 14.5MM Artillery Training Charge 2 L2A1 15,000 
			 Shell 105MM FD HE L31A4 Fuzed L106A4 W/Cart Normal L35A3 16,623 
			 Shell 105MM FD BE SMK SCR L45A2 FZD L92A2 W/Cart Nor L35A2 1,290 
			 Shell 105MM FD Illuminating Para L43A3 Fuzed L92A2 348 
			 Shell 105MM FD Marker Orange Smoke L38A2 Fuzed L32A3 250 
			 Cartridge Propelling 105MM FD Normal L35A3 250 
			 Shell 155MM HE L21A2 Plugged 905 
			 Charge Propelling 155MM M3A1 453 
			 Charge Propelling 155MM M4A2 453 
			 Charge Propelling 155MM L10A2 Charge 8 397 
			 Shell 155MM SMK BE DM105A2 FZD L92A2/Chge L8A1/PRIM DM191A1 97 
			 Shell 155MM Practice Inert L17A2 with PRF 397 
			 Fuze Nose Percussion Direct Action and Graze L106A4 905 
			 Primer Percussion DM191A1 330 
			 Primer Percussion M82 996 
			 MLRS Reduced Range Practice Rocket L1A2 74 
			   
			 Total cost (£) 19,316,974.06 
		
	
	
		
			  Financial year 2009-10 
			  Ammunition type  Quantity/cost 
			 Round 14.5MM Artillery Training Charge 2 L2A1 15,000 
			 Shell 105MM FD HE L31A4 Fuzed L106A4 W/Cart Normal L35A3 15,706 
			 Shell 105MM FD HE L31A4 Fuzed L116A1 W/Cart Normal L35A3 1 
			 Shell 105MM FD BE SMK SCR L52A1 FZD L132A1 W/Cart Nor L35A3 1,291 
			 Shell 105MM FD Illuminating L43A4 Fuzed L132A1 623 
			 Cartridge Propelling 105MM FD Normal L35A3 620 
			 Shell 155MM HE L21A2 Plugged 1,678 
			 Charge Propelling 155MM M3A1 902 
			 Charge Propelling 155MM M4A2 776 
			 Charge Propelling 155MM L8A2 Charge 3 to 7 160 
			 Shell 155MM Smoke BE DM 105A2 Fuzed L132A1 97 
			 Shell 155MM Illuminating DM106A2 Fuzed L132A1 63 
			 Fuze Nose Percussion Direct Action and Graze L106A4 1,678 
			 Primer Percussion DM191A2 160 
			 Primer Percussion M82 1,678 
			 MLRS Reduced Range Practice Rocket L1A2 74 
			   
			 Total cost (£) 19,611,296.85 
		
	
	
		
			  Financial year 2010-11 
			  Ammunition type  Quantity/cost 
			 Round 14.5MM Artillery Training Charge 2 L2A1 12,809 
			 Shell 105MM FD HE L31A4 Fuzed L106A4 W/Cart Normal L35A3 15,325 
			 Shell 105MM FD HE L31A4 Fuzed L116A1 W/Cart Normal L35A3 792 
			 Shell 105MM FD BE SMK SCR L52A1 FZD L132A1 W/Cart Nor L35A3 4,189 
			 Shell 105MM FD Illuminating L43A4 Fuzed L132A1 1,683 
			 Cartridge Propelling 105MM FD Normal L35A3 371 
			 Shell 155MM HE L21A2 Plugged 872 
			 Charge Propelling 155MM M3A1 907 
			 Charge Propelling 155MM L8A2 Charge 3 to 7 98 
			 Charge Propelling 155MM L10A2 Charge 8 238 
			 Shell 155MM Smoke BE DM105A2 Fuzed L132A1 58 
			 Shell 155MM Illuminating DM106A2 Fuzed L132A1 34 
			 Shell 155MM Practice Inert L17A3 with PRF 102 
			 Fuze Nose Percussion Direct Action and Graze L106A4 907 
			 Primer Percussion DM191A2 337 
			 Primer Percussion M82 907 
			 MLRS Reduced Range Practice Rocket L1A2 86 
			   
			 Total cost (£) 28,618,743.15

Departmental Photography

Jim Murphy: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how much his Department has spent on taking, mounting and hanging photographs of its Ministers since April 2010.

Andrew Robathan: It is longstanding practice to display pictures of Ministers in the Ministry of Defence (MOD). Photographs of the new Defence Ministers were taken by in-house MOD photographers as part of their normal duty. No additional costs were incurred.
	Some hard copy photographs were produced for the two display boards in MOD's Main Building using in-house resources. The cost of materials involved in producing and displaying these was £72.
	There have been no other additional costs associated with ministerial photographs.

Departmental Public Expenditure

Jim Murphy: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence which programmes funded by his Department are taking place in  (a) Afghanistan,  (b) Angola,  (c) Burkina Faso,  (d) Burma,  (e) Burundi,  (f) Central African Republic,  (g) Chad,  (h) Congo,  (i) Ivory Coast,  (j) the Democratic Republic of Congo,  (k) Ethiopia,  (l) Guinea,  (m) Guinea Bissau,  (n) Haiti,  (o) Iraq,  (p) Kenya,  (q) Liberia,  (r) Malawi,  (s) Nigeria,  (t) Pakistan,  (u) Somalia,  (v) Sri Lanka,  (w) Sudan,  (x) Uganda,  (y) Uzbekistan,  (z) Yemen and  (aa) Zimbabwe; and what the cost of each such programme was in the last 12 months for which figures are available.

Andrew Robathan: In the past 12 months, the Ministry of Defence (MOD) has funded programmes to contribute to the delivery of defence engagement objectives in: Afghanistan, Burundi, Congo, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Ethiopia, Iraq, Ivory Coast, Kenya, Liberia, Malawi, Nigeria, Pakistan, Somalia, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Uganda, Yemen and Zimbabwe.
	In the past 12 months, the MOD has not funded any programmes in: Angola, Burkina Faso, Burma, Central African Republic, Chad, Guinea, Guinea Bissau, Haiti, Uzbekistan.
	The programmes aim to enhance bilateral relationships and build stability overseas as part of the Government's wider foreign policy goals. They consist of a wide range of activities including (but not limited to):
	Providing places on defence education and training courses in the UK (such as the Army, RAF and Navy Junior Officer Training and the Joint Services Advanced Command and Staff Course);
	The deployment of UK personnel in support of permanent British Peace Support Teams and British Military Advisory and Training Teams;
	The deployment of Short Term Training Teams to deliver subject specific training in country;
	Advisory visits, Defence Staff Talks and Senior Leadership engagement either in the UK or in country.
	In addition to MOD-specific funds, some of these activities receive funding from the tri-departmental Conflict Pool.
	It is not possible to provide a breakdown of the cost and details of individual programmes as its disclosure would or would be likely to prejudice relations between the UK and other states.

Lynx Helicopters

Douglas Carswell: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will review the terms under which the Future Lynx contract was awarded.

Peter Luff: There are currently no plans to review the terms under which the Future Lynx contract was awarded. The strategic defence and security review has confirmed that Lynx Wildcat continues to represent the best solution to deliver the combined requirement of both the Royal Navy and Army. However, as part of the Department's wider contract re-negotiating strategy all major equipment procurements will be reviewed for possible savings measures.

Military Exercises

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many and what proportion of training exercises were cancelled in 2010; and what exercises those were.

Andrew Robathan: The following list shows the exercises that had been scheduled and subsequently cancelled in the calendar year 2010:
	 Exercise
	Jordan Express
	Malaysian Express
	Steppe Eagle
	Cossack Steppe
	French Connection
	Tricolour
	Asterix
	Winged Star
	Glow Worm/Rattlesnake
	Gobi Dust
	African Thorn
	Oman Express
	Bald Eagle
	Chartered Flight
	Citadel
	Crown Eagle
	Destier/Aurige
	Silver Eagle
	Steam Drive
	Top Kitten
	Tunuk Warrior
	Wet Gap
	Work Sheet
	Roman Eagle
	Turtle Truss
	Lion Sun 1
	Lion Sun 2
	Crown Pinnacle 10-4
	TLP 10-5
	Crown Condor
	Ark Royal R2
	Blue Flag
	2 X Calfex
	Devils Hat
	Devils Horizon
	First Eagle
	First Rock
	Guibert
	Horizon
	Kleiber
	Gaulish
	Longboat Warrior
	Larksong Foxtrot
	Marble Tor
	Medoc
	Modulex
	Pathfinder
	Pony Express
	Ponte Vecchio/Tower Bridge
	Readiness Challenge
	Lion Star 1
	Lion Star 2
	Iron Ram/Ferro Ariete
	Bass Rock
	Anatolian Eagle 10
	Green Flag West 10-9
	Torpedo Focus 10-3
	Pitch Black
	Bold Avenger 10
	TLP10-4
	Tactical Leadership Training (TLT)
	Emerald Move
	RM CT2 Coy Trg
	Auriga US Enterprise C2X
	Rimpac 10
	The proportion of cancelled exercises is normally calculated on a financial year basis. In financial year 2009-10, there were 436 scheduled training events of which 59 (13.5%) were cancelled. Figures for financial year 2010-11 will be released as part of the Ministry of Defence Annual Report and Accounts.

Nimrod Aircraft

Charles Walker: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what effect withdrawing RAF Nimrods will have on the armed forces' ability to  (a) detect and  (b) track foreign military operations; and if he will make a statement.

Andrew Robathan: The armed forces retain a number of assets capable of detecting and tracking foreign military operations. In view of the sensitive and classified nature of some of the military tasks for which the Nimrod MRA4 was theoretically designed, I cannot comment further on these capabilities.

Nuclear Weapons

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when preliminary discussions commenced with the French government on the scope of the treaty between the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the French Republic relating to joint radiographic/hydrodynamics facilities; and which teams from (a) his Department and  (b) the Atomic Weapons Establishment were involved in preparation of the treaty.

Peter Luff: Substantive discussions on the potential scope of a treaty between the UK and France for the construction and operation of joint radiographic facilities at Valduc, France and the Atomic Weapons Establishment (AWE), commenced in July 2010. These followed preliminary discussions based on an earlier proposal made in January 2009.
	Within the Ministry of Defence these discussions were led by a multidisciplinary team including policy, technical and legal experts. Support from AWE was provided by the Directorate of Research and Applied Science.

Nuclear Weapons

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what contracts  (a) have been awarded and  (b) are expected to be awarded for the inception, design and construction of Project Hydrus at the Atomic Weapons Establishment.

Peter Luff: Project Hydrus is part of the Nuclear Warhead Capability Sustainment Programme and is, therefore, incorporated in the management and operation contract between the Ministry of Defence and AWE Management Ltd.
	Work under this contract, in relation to Hydrus, includes the awarding of subcontracts by AWE plc for inception, design, site preparation and construction. I am withholding the details of these contracts as disclosure would prejudice commercial interests.
	The collaborative Anglo-French programme, Teutates, announced by the Prime Minister on 2 November 2010,  Official Report, column 32WS, means that Hydrus will not now proceed as originally envisaged. Construction activities will therefore not be undertaken.

Rescue Services: Helicopters

Charles Walker: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether he expects the RAF's Hercules Fleet to retain the requisite systems and equipment for humanitarian search and rescue missions following the Strategic Defence and Security Review; and if he will make a statement.

Peter Luff: The equipment used by the C-130 Hercules aircraft has not changed as a consequence of the Strategic Defence and Security Review. This includes the ability to deploy Air Sea Rescue Apparatus for the Search and Rescue role.

Territorial Waters

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what recent discussions his officials have had with  (a) Canadian,  (b) US,  (c) Norwegian and  (d) French defence officials on maritime reconnaissance and patrol of UK territorial waters.

Andrew Robathan: Ministry of Defence officials regularly discuss maritime patrol issues with their counterparts from allied nations, including Canada, the United States, Norway and France. Through these regular discussions we have worked towards better co-operation for mutual benefit.

Unmanned Air Vehicles

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether MQ-9 Reaper pilots are licensed under the Civil Aviation Authority for that aircraft.

Peter Luff: MQ-9 Reaper pilots are not licensed by the Civil Aviation Authority. Military pilots gain military flying qualifications following successful completion of theory, simulator and practical training. Their continuing competency to fly specific aircraft types is then the responsibility of the Military Aviation Authority and the relevant single service.

World War II

Marcus Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether he has plans to bring forward proposals to recognise the contribution made by munitions workers to the defence and security of the UK during the second world war.

Mark Prisk: I have been asked to reply.
	The Government fully recognise the courage and fortitude of those who worked in munitions factories during world war II. I am considering how we can best acknowledge the contribution they made to the war effort and will provide a substantive response in due course.

JUSTICE

Courts: Closures

Mark Garnier: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what plans he has for future use of the building used by Kidderminster county court after its closure.

Jonathan Djanogly: The Ministry of Justice is not vacating a building as a result of the closure. The county court currently forms a small part of the much larger operational magistrates courthouse in Kidderminster.

Courts: Closures

Mark Garnier: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what estimate he has made of the level of savings which will accrue from the closure of Kidderminster County Court.

Jonathan Djanogly: The decision to transfer the Kidderminster county court counter service to Worcester combined court while retaining county court hearings within the existing Kidderminster building was taken in order to provide a more consistent level of service for court users. Therefore, my Department did not anticipate that there would be (non staff) operational cost savings. Consultation with the trade unions is still ongoing and therefore we are not in a position to confirm savings related to staff costs.

Courts: Closures

Mark Garnier: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice if he will assess the effects of closing Kidderminster county court on the status of the private finance initiative contract with Kidderminster magistrates court.

Jonathan Djanogly: There will be no impact on the status of the private finance initiative contract, which will continue to provide magistrates court buildings at Hereford, Kidderminster, Redditch and Worcester.

Courts: Closures

Mark Garnier: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice whether his Department plans to renegotiate the Kidderminster court house private finance initiative contract after the closure of Kidderminster county court.

Jonathan Djanogly: There are currently no plans to renegotiate the private finance initiative contract after the closure of Kidderminster county court.

Legal Aid

Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what plans he has for the future provision of legal aid in respect of advice on social welfare law; and if he will make a statement.

Jonathan Djanogly: On 15 November 2010, the Government published proposals for reform of legal aid including social welfare law. We propose that legal aid be retained in the highest priority cases-in debt and housing when someone's home is at immediate risk, for homelessness case, and disrepair cases where health or life is at serious risk. We will retain legal aid in Community Care cases. Legal aid will also continue to be available where it is now for unlawful discrimination employment cases. Under these proposals legal aid would no longer be routinely available in other social welfare law matters.

Legal Aid

Rushanara Ali: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what estimate  (a) his Department and  (b) the Legal Services Commission has made of the number of legal aid funded cases that were unnecessary in the last four years.

Jonathan Djanogly: Neither my Department nor the Legal Services Commission has made any such assessment. Cases granted legal aid funding will have satisfied the current merits test (for civil legal aid) or the interests of justice test (for criminal legal aid). The proposals set within the recent legal aid consultation are designed to encourage people to explore alternative methods of dispute resolution and, where possible, to resolve their problems without recourse to the courts. The aim is to create a stable and sustainable system that ensures access to public funding in those cases that really require it, the protection of the most vulnerable in our society and the efficient performance of our justice system.

Legal Aid Scheme

Teresa Pearce: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what funding the Legal Services Commission provided from the legal aid budget for legal assistance and representation relating to multi-party actions in each of the last 10 years.

Jonathan Djanogly: Multi-party action legal aid expenditure for each of the last 10 years, net of the legal aid costs recovered from the opposing party in cases where the party in receipt of legal aid succeeds, is shown as follows.
	
		
			   £ million 
			 2000-01 20.2 
			 2001-02 16.6 
			 2002-03 14.9 
			 2003-04 8.4 
			 2004-05 7.7 
			 2005-06 3.2 
			 2006-07 (1)-3.3 
			 2007-08 (1)-0.6 
			 2008-09 (1)-2.6 
			 2009-10 0.2 
			 (1) Recovery 
		
	
	The reduction in the net expenditure is due to a number of factors, including, the removal of personal injury from the scope of legal aid, and the introduction of 'risk rates' for multi-party actions where legal aid is paid at a third of the market rates throughout the duration of those cases where the full legal costs are likely to be recovered from the opposing party. The high spend in the early 2000s was due to discontinuing a number of very expensive actions, and the recoveries in the mid 2000s were due to success in a number of child abuse cases.

Legal Aid: Cumbria

Tim Farron: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many people in  (a) Cumbria and  (b) Westmorland and Lonsdale constituency received legal aid in each of the last five years.

Jonathan Djanogly: The Legal Services Commission (LSC) does not record the number of people who receive legal aid, but instead records the number of 'acts of assistance'. One individual may receive a number of separate acts of assistance, and one act of assistance can help more than one person.
	The LSC does not record the grant of legal aid by constituency. However, the following tables show the numbers of acts of assistance based on legal aid providers with postcodes falling within  (a) the Cumbria procurement area and  (b) the Westmorland and Lonsdale constituency.
	The figures do not include legal aid received via telephone advice, Community Legal Advice Centres, the Housing Possession Court Duty Scheme, telephone triage, or family mediation. These figures are unavailable at a constituency level.
	
		
			  Cumbria Procurement Area: Acts of assistance 
			   2005-06  2006-07  2007-08  2008-09  2009-10 
			 Civil Representation certificates issued 1,200 1,300 1,200 1,000 1,100 
			 Legal Help New Matter Starts in Civil and Immigration 7,100 7,600 6,800 7,400 7,700 
			 Crime Lower claim volumes 10,100 9,200 8,900 9,300 8,800 
			 Crime Higher case volumes 700 700 800 1,100 1,100 
			 Total 19,100 18,800 17,700 18,800 18,700 
		
	
	
		
			  Westmorland and Lonsdale constituency: Acts of assistance 
			   2005-06  2006-07  2007-08  2008-09  2009-10 
			 Civil Representation certificates issued 100 100 100 100 100 
			 Legal Help New Matter Starts in Civil and Immigration 1,900 2,500 2,600 2,600 2,500 
			 Crime Lower claim volumes 1,300 1,100 1,100 1,200 1,200 
			 Crime Higher case volumes 20 20 40 40 90 
			 Total 3,320 3,720 3,840 3,940 3,890

Legal Aid: Greater London

Rushanara Ali: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many people in  (a) London and  (b) Bethnal Green and Bow constituency received legal aid in each of the last five years.

Jonathan Djanogly: The Legal Services Commission (LSC) does not record the number of people who receive legal aid, but instead records the number of 'acts of assistance'. One individual may receive a number of separate acts of assistance, and one act of assistance can help more than one person.
	The LSC does not record the grant of legal aid by constituency. However, the tables below show the numbers of acts of assistance based on legal aid providers with postcodes falling within  (a) London and  (b) Bethnal Green and Bow constituency.
	The figures do not include legal aid received via telephone advice, Community Legal Advice Centres, the Housing Possession Court Duty Scheme, telephone triage, or family mediation. These figures are unavailable at a constituency level.
	
		
			  London-acts of assistance 
			   2005-06  2006-07  2007-08  2008-09  2009-10 
			 Civil Representation certificates issued 27,000 27,000 24,000 27,000 29,000 
			 Legal Help New Matter Starts in Civil and Immigration 154,000 159,000 154,000 177,000 174,000 
			 Crime Lower claim volumes 211,000 204,000 189,000 209,000 214,000 
			 Crime Higher case volumes 21,000 20,000 23,000 26,000 28,000 
			 Total 413,000 410,000 390,000 439,000 445,000 
		
	
	
		
			  Bethnal Green and Bow constituency-acts of assistance 
			   2005-06  2006-07  2007-08  2008-09  2009-10 
			 Civil Representation certificates issued 850 1,250 1,200 1,200 1,300 
			 Legal Help New Matter Starts in Civil and Immigration 6,650 7,550 9,500 13,100 11,500 
			 Crime Lower claim volumes 2,800 2,900 2,700 4,300 5,800 
			 Crime Higher case volumes 350 400 500 550 750 
			 Total 10,650 12,100 13,900 19,050 19,350

Legal Aid: Prisoners

Stephen Barclay: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what estimate he has made of the cost to the public purse of providing legal aid to prisoners in respect of judicial review proceedings in each of the last three years; and what the cost to the public purse was of defending against judicial review proceedings for prisoners  (a) in receipt of legal aid and  (b) not in receipt of legal aid.

Jonathan Djanogly: It is not possible to estimate the cost of providing legal aid to prisoners in judicial review proceedings, as the Legal Services Commission does not distinguish between prisoners and non-prisoners in granting legal aid for judicial reviews.
	With regards to the costs incurred by the Ministry of Justice and its associated bodies in defending itself against judicial review proceedings, it is not possible to provide accurate and up to date figures in the time frame requested. I will write to the hon. Member when this is available and place a copy of the letter in the Libraries of the House.

Legal Aid: Social Security Benefits

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice if he will assess the effects of his proposed reductions in expenditure on legal aid provision for social welfare issues on people in Coventry.

Jonathan Djanogly: There is no intention to conduct such an assessment. Impact assessments will be published alongside any response to the legal aid consultation in due course, however these are unlikely to contain any detailed geographic analysis of impacts.

Magistrates Courts

Mark Garnier: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what ongoing private finance initiative contractual obligations are in place in respect of Kidderminster magistrates court.

Jonathan Djanogly: The Ministry of Justice has on-going private financial contractual obligations for the magistrates courts provided under the Herford and Worchester PFI contract (namely Hereford, Kidderminster, Redditch and Worcester) which runs from 28 February 2000 for 25 years.

Prisoners' Release

Ian Swales: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what recent assessment he has made of the availability of parole board hearings for persons imprisoned for public protection.

Jonathan Djanogly: The Ministry of Justice and the Parole Board meet regularly to assess the Parole Board's capacity to hold oral hearings for persons imprisoned for public protection. Joint working and careful planning have enabled the Parole Board to sit more oral hearing panels a month.
	The following table shows the number of IPP (Imprisonment for Public Protection) cases considered by the Parole Board:
	
		
			   Number 
			 2006-07 74 
			 2007-08 253 
			 2008-09 556 
			 2009-10 1,432 
			 2010-11 (to 31 December 2010) (1)1,600 
			 (1 )Provisional

Prisoners: Health

Robert Buckland: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice 
	(1)  what assessment he has made of the potential merits of introducing a generic health treatment community order; and whether he has made an estimate of the number of people who could be subject to such orders as an alternative to a short prison sentence in a year;
	(2)  whether he has plans to make psychiatric reports available to courts in respect of defendants with mental health disorders who may be eligible for a mental health treatment requirement pursuant to a community order;
	(3)  what plans he has to offer  (a) mental health,  (b) alcohol and  (c) drug treatment to offenders sentenced to community orders including health treatment requirements.

Crispin Blunt: The Government's proposals for improving rehabilitation outcomes, including through improved access to mental health, drugs or alcohol treatment services, are set out in 'Breaking the Cycle: Effective Punishment, Rehabilitation and Sentencing of Offenders', published on 7 December.
	This consultation document also includes proposals for making better use of community sentences to punish and rehabilitate offenders providing effective alternatives to custody where community-based punishment and treatment may be more appropriate. In particular, we are consulting on options on how health treatment requirements should be formulated as part of community orders, to better motivate and engage offenders into treatment for mental health, drugs and alcohol problems. The consultation period will end on 4 March and we will publish the Government's response in May 2011.

HEALTH

Biomedical Research

Michael Fallon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what funding he has allocated for biomedical research over the period of the comprehensive spending review; and if he will make a statement.

Simon Burns: The Department's revenue allocations for research and development are shown in the following table.
	
		
			   £ million 
			 2011-12 1,004 
			 2012-13 1,030 
			 2013-14 1,059 
			 2014-15 1,089 
		
	
	The Department does not allocate funding specifically for biomedical research. It funds research through the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) and the Department of Health Policy Research Programme. The NIHR funds a range of health research programmes and infrastructure including biomedical research centres and biomedical research units.

Cancer: Drugs

Jim Dobbin: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what criteria the Cancer Drugs Fund will use to assess the appropriateness of funding a treatment; and whether he has any plans to establish an advisory board on such criteria.

Simon Burns: We have consulted on our plans for the design of the Cancer Drugs Fund and our consultation closed on 19 January. Decisions on the implementation of the Cancer Drugs Fund will be taken once the responses to the consultation have been considered.

Cancer: Health Education

Valerie Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when he plans to publish his Department's implementation plan for cancer information prescriptions.

Paul Burstow: On 11 January, we published "Improving Outcomes: A Strategy for Cancer", a copy of which has already been placed in the Library. The strategy reports that the National Cancer Action Team, in partnership with Macmillan Cancer Support and Cancer Research UK, is supporting the use of information prescriptions (IPs) so that every cancer patient in England should be able to benefit over the lifetime of the strategy. Work is continuing to develop the use of IPs throughout the cancer pathway.
	The implementation framework for cancer IPs is being piloted by a number of beacon sites in national health service trusts. The framework is now being finalised to reflect the early learning from the sites, the direction set by the new strategy and plans to make IPs more accessible to hard to reach groups. We expect to publish the final implementation framework in the spring.

Carers: Older People

Cathy Jamieson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will assess the conclusions and recommendations of the Age UK report, Invisible but Invaluable.

Paul Burstow: This Government welcomes the Age UK report, "Invisible but Invaluable". We do recognise the valuable contribution made by older carers, many of whom spend a significant proportion of their life providing unpaid support to family members or friends. Local authorities and the national health service have a vital role to play in identifying and supporting more carers.
	In November 2010, the Government published "Recognised, valued and supported: next steps for the Carers Strategy". The Strategy is a cross Government strategy and shows how Government intend to support carers in terms of the outcomes and plans of health, social care, education and other services across Government. Two of the key recommendations were:
	supporting those with caring responsibilities to identify themselves as carers at an early stage, recognising the value of their contribution and involving them from the outset both in designing local care provision and in planning individual care packages; and
	enabling those with caring responsibilities to fulfil their educational and personalised support both for carers and those they support, enabling them to have a family and community life.
	These have been supported by:
	the Department has provided funding of over £63,000 plus VAT for the training of up to 200 general practitioners (GPs) and practice staff in the current financial year. As a result of this training, GPs and practice staff will be better able to identify and support carers; and
	an additional £400 million in primary care trust (PCT) baselines to support the provision of breaks for carers. The "Operating Framework for the NHS in England 2011-12" indicates that PCTs should pool budgets with local authorities to provide carers' breaks, as far as possible, via direct payments or personal health budgets. This money is not ring fenced but for 2011-12, PCTs should agree policies, plans and budgets to support carers with local authorities and local carers' organisations, and make them available to local people.

Community Health Services: Fuels

Helen Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will assess the effects of increases in fuel prices on district nurses and health visitors in the NHS who use their own cars for work; and if he will make a statement.

Simon Burns: Rates of reimbursement for travelling expenses are contained in the national health service terms and conditions handbook. These apply to district nurses and health visitors unless alternative arrangements have been agreed locally. Any changes to national rates of reimbursement would be agreed by the NHS Staff Council.
	Proposals for a new national system of reimbursing travel expenses were published by the NHS Staff Council on 14 October 2010. If agreed the proposal provides a system that is simpler, fairer, more transparent and better for the environment. The proposal also includes a review mechanism which will allow rates to reflect the changing cost of motoring.
	These new rates of reimbursement would apply to journeys made on and after 1 July 2013. Existing rates will apply until then.

Departmental Secondments

Teresa Pearce: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what secondments  (a) GlaxoSmithKline,  (b) Pfizer,  (c) Sanofi Aventis,  (d) Astra Zeneca and  (e) Novartis have made to his Department in each of the last five years; for what (i) periods and (ii) tasks the secondments were made; whether secondments of staff from his Department have been made to those firms; and for what (A) periods and (B) tasks.

Simon Burns: There have been no secondments to, or from, the Department and GlaxoSmithKline, Pfizer, Sanofi Aventis, Astra Zeneca or Novartis in any of the last five years.

Fertility: Medical Treatments

Diane Abbott: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent assessment he has made of the availability of fertility treatment on the NHS; how many women over the age of 40-years-old received infertility treatment on the NHS in the most recent quarter for which figures are available; what assessment he has made of the effects of such provision on NHS budgets; and if he will make a statement.

Anne Milton: No recent assessment has been made of the availability of fertility treatment on the national health service, and information about the number of women over the age of 40-years-old who have received NHS funded infertility treatment is not held centrally. It is for primary care trusts (PCTs) to make commissioning decisions based on clinical evidence and discussions with local general practitioner commissioners, secondary care clinicians and providers, in order to meet their statutory responsibilities.
	The NHS deputy chief executive, David Flory, wrote to PCT commissioners on 11 January 2011 to highlight that they should have regard to the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence fertility guidelines, when considering commissioning services, including the recommendation that up to three cycles of in vitro fertilisation are offered to eligible couples where the woman is aged between 23 and 39.
	The Department also supports Infertility Network UK, the leading fertility patient organisation, to work in partnership with PCTs to encourage good practice in the provision of fertility services. This work is ongoing.

General Practitioners

Valerie Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what mechanism he plans to put in place to monitor expenditure on the GP consortia pathfinder programme.

Simon Burns: We have no plans to monitor expenditure centrally on the general practitioner (GP) consortia pathfinder programme.
	Primary care trust (PCT) clusters will support the development of all emerging GP consortia, including pathfinders, through offering support, including a fund of £2 per head for support in the development of their consortia. This can be used flexibly to fund, for example, clinical backfill, training and organisational development. Clusters will also provide support through a qualified or accredited senior finance manager; an organisational development expert/facilitator; an individual with expertise of appropriate governance arrangements or corporate affairs and a commissioning expert.
	Subject to the legislative process, GP consortia will be accountable to the NHS Commissioning Board for managing public funds and for the outcomes they achieve.

General Practitioners: Manpower

Paul Maynard: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent estimate he has made of the ratio of GPs to population in  (a) Blackpool North and Cleveleys constituency,  (b) Lancashire and  (c) England.

Simon Burns: General practitioner (GP) work force census data are not available by county or constituency area. Blackpool North and Cleveleys constituency is contained within and serviced by Blackpool Primary Care Trust (PCT) and North Lancashire PCT. The ratio of GPs per 100,000 head of population for Blackpool PCT is 70 and for North Lancashire PCT is 63.8.
	The five PCTs provided cover all the districts of Lancashire so for Lancashire the ratio of GPs per 100,000 head of population is 61.2 and for England the ratio is 69.3.
	The information is collected by the NHS Information Centre and is shown in the following table:
	
		
			  GPs (excluding retainers and registrars) per head of population in select areas, as at 30 September 2009 
			   GPs (excluding retainers and registrars)  GPs (excluding retainers and registrars) per 100,000 population 
			 England 35,917 69.3 
			
			 Lancashire 885 61.2 
			 Blackburn with Darwen PCT 95 67.9 
			 Blackpool PCT 98 70.0 
			 North Lancashire Teaching PCT 209 63.8 
			 Central Lancashire PCT 262 57.2 
			 East Lancashire Teaching PCT 221 58.0 
			  Sources: The NHS Information Centre for health and social care General and Personal Medical Services Statistics Office for National Statistics, 2009 Final Mid-Year Population Estimates (2001 census based), adjusted May 2010 to reflect revisions to migration methodology

Health

Yvonne Fovargue: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps he plans to take to ensure that there is a sufficient and appropriately qualified multi-disciplinary public health workforce at local authority level; and if he will take steps to ensure that public health continues to be a highly-regarded career path for both medical and non-medical graduates.

Anne Milton: Working with representative and professional organisations the public health work force strategy will be published in autumn 2011. It will set out how to secure the supply of highly trained and motivated staff, with the skills needed across the range of public health interventions, including those in local authorities who will provide public health advice and commission services.

Health: Private Sector

Bill Esterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  if he will assess the likely effects of including private healthcare companies in the commissioning process in the light of international experience;
	(2)  what mechanisms he plans to put in place to prevent private healthcare companies participating in the commissioning process solely for the purpose of profiteering.

Simon Burns: External private organisations are currently widely used by primary care trusts to support the commissioning process. There is evidence that in many cases external organisations have succeeded in improving commissioning processes and can provide support in key areas such as data analysis and commercial skills.
	General practitioner consortia will receive a maximum management allowance to reflect the costs associated with commissioning. They will have the freedom to decide what commissioning activities they undertake for themselves, and for what activities they choose to buy in support from external organisations, including local authorities, private and voluntary sector bodies.
	The Department does not intend to monitor how consortia spend their management allowance, as consortia will have the freedom to use their resources in ways that achieve the best and most cost-efficient outcomes for patients. Consortia will, however, need to take account of value for money when contracting with external organisations.

Hearing: Babies

Diane Abbott: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what mechanism he plans to put in place for the delivery of quality assurance for the newborn hearing screening programme by Public Health England; and if he will make a statement.

Anne Milton: The Public Health White Paper, 'Healthy Lives, Healthy People: Our strategy for public health in England', makes clear that Public Health England will be responsible for funding and ensuring the provision of screening services in the future. Part of its role will be to design and provide quality assurance and monitoring for all screening programmes including the NHS Newborn Hearing Screening Programme.

Hospital Beds

Anne-Marie Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent estimate he has made of the cost to the public purse of patients medically fit for discharge who remained in hospital in the latest period for which figures are available.

Paul Burstow: The most recent estimate of the cost of an excess bed-day in an English hospital in 2009-10 is about £250.

Industrial Health and Safety

Alok Sharma: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what progress his Department has made on reviewing the health and safety regulations for which it is responsible since his appointment.

Anne Milton: Lord Young's review of health and safety laws and the compensation culture, Common Sense Common Safety, carried out for the Prime Minister, was published on 15 October 2010.
	Actions to implement Lord Young's recommendations are being taken forward across Government. The Food Standards Agency (FSA) is responsible for implementing the recommendation to combine health and safety inspections and food safety inspections undertaken by local authorities and the other recommendations relating to food safety. This work is being taken forward by the FSA in line with the timetable set out in the report.

Influenza: Newton Abbot

Anne-Marie Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment his Department has made of the availability of the influenza vaccine in Newton Abbot constituency.

Anne Milton: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave the hon. Member for Warrington North (Helen Jones) on 19 January 2011,  Official Report, columns 850-51W.

Maternal Mortality

David Lammy: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the five most prevalent causes of maternal mortality were in the last 10 years.

Anne Milton: The Confidential Enquiry into Maternal and Child Health publishes a report once every three years; 'Saving Mothers' Lives' (formerly entitled 'Why Mothers Die'). The most recent, published in December 2007, covered the years 2003-05. This publication gives numbers of deaths in the United Kingdom reported to the inquiry in the three-year periods considered and divides them into deaths directly and indirectly due to pregnancy and childbirth.
	The data in the table are from the confidential inquiry report 'Saving Mothers Lives'. The figures supplied are for the last 10 years for which data are available.
	
		
			   Cause of death  1994-96  1997-99  2000-02  2003-05 
			 1 Cardiac 39 35 44 48 
			 2 Coincidental 36 29 36 55 
			 3 Thrombosis/thromboembolism 48 35 30 41 
			 4 Psychiatric 9 15 16 18 
			 5 Pre-eclampsia, eclampsia 20 16 14 18 
			  Total 152 130 140 180 
			  Notes:  1. Coincidental causes means deaths linked to pregnancy only by a temporal association in that they occurred during pregnancy or within six weeks of birth.  2. The total number of deaths over the most recent period of 2003-05 represented approximately 0.008% of the total number of maternities (2,114,004).  3. The next Maternal Death Enquiry Review (2006-08) is due to be published in March.

Medical Equipment: Expenditure

Matthew Offord: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what mechanisms there are to ensure the NHS recovers medical aids loaned to patients and others;
	(2)  what estimate he has made of the expenditure by the NHS on medical aids in the last 12 months for which figures are available.

Paul Burstow: It is the responsibility of the local national health service to monitor and arrange for the recovery of medical aids, where this is safe and cost-effective.
	Information on the expenditure by the NHS on medical aids is not held centrally as it is Government policy to reduce burden on local councils and primary care trusts who would be the bodies responsible for collecting these data.

NHS: Finance

Yvonne Fovargue: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the  (a) criteria to be applied and  (b) evidential basis is for the proposed (i) health ringfence and (ii) health premium.

Anne Milton: From April 2013, upper tier and unitary local authorities will receive a new ring-fenced public health grant, in order to improve the health of their local population. The size of the ring-fenced grant will be based on relative population health need and weighted for inequalities. We are currently consulting on the range of activity for which local authorities will take responsibility and this will be key in determining the size of the grant. Work is also ongoing to determine baseline spending on public health activities in the national health service and this will inform the process of determining the size of the local authority public health grant. Our consultation also seeks views on the approach we should take to public health allocations.
	The new health premium will be designed to incentivise action to reduce health inequalities and reward progress in improving the health of the local population, based on elements of the Public Health Outcomes Framework.
	We will develop the formula for the health premium in an open and transparent way and are consulting on both the Public Health Outcomes Framework and the approach we should take to the premium itself in order to get the detail right, ensuring that it is fair, rewards areas for their achievements, and incentivises reductions in health inequalities. We intend to establish a stakeholder group to assist in this process.

Pain

Anne Begg: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will bring forward proposals to provide training on chronic pain for  (a) general practitioners and  (b) nurses.

Anne Milton: The content and standard of health care training is the responsibility of the independent regulatory bodies. Their role is that of custodian of quality standards in education and practice.
	The General Medical Council and the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC), are the respective independent bodies with regulatory responsibility for general practitioner (GP) and nurse education standards.
	Both bodies have established curricular that incorporates mandatory learning outcomes for the deterrence and treatment of chronic pain.
	The Royal College of General Practitioners has chosen chronic pain as a clinical priority area during 2011-13. A clinical champion will be appointed to lead this area of work from April 2011. Their work will address the training needs of front-line GPs and improve community-based provision of pain management.
	The NMC has recently revised their standards for nurse pre-registration education. The new standards contain essential skills clusters that are incorporated into all nurse education programmes. The skills associated with these clusters are implicit throughout the required standards and include training and knowledge on prevention and treatment of chronic pain.

Prescription Drugs

Jim Dobbin: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what is the cost per quality adjusted life year for each drug with patient numbers of less than 500 approved by the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence in the last five years.

Simon Burns: The information requested is not held by the Department. I have asked the chief executive of the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence to write to the hon. Member with this information. A copy will be placed in the Library.

Prescriptions

Duncan Hames: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many prescriptions were issued for medicines which are available over-the-counter in pharmacies in each of the last three years; how many such prescriptions were provided free of charge; and what the cost to the NHS was of  (a) the drugs provided and  (b) their processing.

Simon Burns: Estimates of over-the-counter medicines are available only for those medicines classified as General Sales List ('GS' medicines) or Pharmacy only medicines ('P' medicines). The total number of items for these medicines is not available except at disproportionate cost. However, information on the number of General Sales List and Pharmacy only prescription items that were dispensed free at the point of dispensing (including items dispensed to patients holding a pre-payment certificate) are available.
	These figures, together with the net ingredient cost, and the cost to the national health service of processing the prescriptions, for the three most recent years available, are shown in the following table.
	
		
			  Estimate of GSL and P medicines exempt from prescription charges at the point of dispensing and dispensed by pharmacies in England from 2007-08 to 2009-10( 1,2) 
			  £000 
			  Financial year  Prescription items( 3)  Net ingredient cost  Processing cost( 4) 
			 2007-08 136,094 531,585 3,160 
			 2008-09 145,450 517,739 3,069 
			 2009-10 155,649 551,410 2,922 
			 (1) Data have been supplied for medicines which have a General Sales List (GSL) or Pharmacy only medicine (P) marketing authorisation only. Unlicensed medicines and devices have been excluded. (2) Data include some Prescription Only Medicines (POM) which also have a GSL/P marketing authorisation for different pack sizes. This is because dispensing contractors are not always required to inform NHS RxS of the pack size they have used to meet the prescription order, therefore some items recorded against a POM pack size may have been supplied using smaller GSL or P packs. (3) Prescription items are the number of times a P or GSL medicine appears on a dispensed prescription form which was exempt at the point of dispensing. This includes items which have been supplied to patients who hold a pre-payment certificate. (4) Processing costs include all the related NHS RxS administrative expenditure including staff, information technology maintenance and overheads directly related to processing prescriptions. This does not include NHS RxS capital expenditure and depreciation or any other NHS costs associated with the prescribing or dispensing of the medicine to the patient.  Source: NHS Prescription Services (NHS RxS) Information Systems, NHS RxS Common Drug Reference Database and NHS Business Services Authority Costing Model

Preventive Medicine

Yvonne Fovargue: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether he plans to take steps to maintain a focus on preventative healthcare in his proposals for reform of the NHS.

Anne Milton: The White Paper 'Healthy Lives, Healthy People: Our strategy for public health in England', sets out the Government's vision for public health. Subject to Parliament, the Government will create a new public health service-Public Health England-with a renewed focus on health prevention, health protection and improvement.
	The Government have reinforced their commitment to tackling the preventable causes of ill-health by announcing their intention to give local authorities ring-fenced public health budgets to improve the health of their local population. A new health premium will reward progress on specific public health outcomes.
	We are currently consulting on the detail of these proposals.

Speech Therapy: Worcestershire

Robin Walker: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what information his Department holds on levels of provision for speech and language therapy in Worcestershire; and if he will assess the adequacy of such provision in comparison with national levels.

Paul Burstow: The most recent data for 2009-10 are recorded in the following table and provide a count and percentage of all appointments for speech and language therapy and total out-patient appointments for Worcestershire Primary Care Trust (PCT) and England.
	The provision of services such as speech and language therapy is a matter for local national health service and authority decision after assessment of local area needs.
	
		
			   Total out-patient appointments  Number of speech and language appointments  Percentage of all appointments which are speech/language 
			 England 84,198,458 49,652 0.059 
			 Worcestershire PCT 984,026 284 0.029 
			  Source:  Hospital Episode Statistics (HES), The NHS Information Centre for health and social care.

BUSINESS, INNOVATION AND SKILLS

Apprentices

Rosie Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how much funding his Department allocated to apprenticeships for young people in each of the last three years.

John Hayes: The following table contains apprenticeship expenditure figures for 16 to 18-year-olds for the last three years:
	
		
			  16 to 18 apprenticeships 
			   Expenditure (£ million) 
			 2007-08 604 
			 2008-09 630 
			 2009-10 688 
		
	
	The 16 to 18 apprenticeships budget for the 2010-11 financial year is currently £780 million and funding for 16 to 18 apprenticeships will increase again to £799 million in 2011-12. This will provide funding for more than 133,000 starts for 16 to 18-year-olds.

Apprentices

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what estimate he has made of the number of apprenticeships which will be created in the next 12 months  (a) in Liverpool Wavertree constituency and  (b) England.

John Hayes: The apprenticeships programme is demand-led, so the Government do not set specific targets for apprenticeships by constituency. The Skills Funding Agency (SFA) operates a national system to fund post 19 further education and training. Funding allocations to colleges and providers reflect the pattern of employer demand and funding is moved in year to reflect local need. The National Apprenticeship Service work with local providers and employers in Liverpool Wavertree to make apprenticeship places available where there is demand.
	We are committed to have funding in place to train over 350,000 apprentices in England in the 2010/11 academic year. For the 2011/12 academic year, our indicative forecast is for over 360,000 apprenticeship places.

Apprentices: Engineering

John Stevenson: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many young people took up an engineering apprenticeship in  (a) Britain,  (b) Cumbria and  (c) Carlisle in 2009-10.

John Hayes: The following table shows the number of apprenticeship starts by young people (aged under 19) on the engineering framework in England, Cumbria local authority and Carlisle parliamentary constituency in the 2009/10 academic year.
	
		
			  Apprenticeship programme starts by young people (aged under 19) on the engineering framework in England, Cumbria local authority and Carlisle constituency, 2009/10 
			  Geography  Apprenticeship starts 
			 Carlisle parliamentary constituency 20 
			 Cumbria local authority 300 
			 England 7,800 
			  Notes: 1. England and local authority figures are rounded to the nearest hundred. Parliamentary constituency figures are rounded to the nearest 10. 2. Age is based on age at the start of the programme. 3. Geographic information is based upon the home postcode of the learner. The England total figure includes those learners studying in England where the postcode is not known or outside of England.  Source: Individualised Learner Record 
		
	
	Information on the number of apprenticeship starts is published in a quarterly statistical first release (SFR). The latest SFR was published on 27 January 2011
	http://www.thedataservice.org.uk/statistics/statisticalfirstrelease/sfr_current

Burton's Foods: Moreton

Angela Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills whether he has assessed the merits of offering support for the continued operation of Burton's Foods Factory in Moreton.

Mark Prisk: No application for public funding to support the continued operation of the Moreton factory has been submitted by Burton's Foods. If received, any such application would be assessed in line with the Department's standard procedures.

Burton's Foods: Moreton

Angela Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what grants were paid to Burton's Foods Factory in Moreton in 2009-10.

Mark Prisk: No publicly-funded grants were paid to the Burton's Foods factory at Moreton during the period in question.

Burton's Foods: Moreton

Angela Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills if he will match any grant offered to Burton's Foods Factory in Moreton by the Scottish Government and Welsh Assembly Government in order to secure jobs in England.

Mark Prisk: Any application for grant funding for Burton's Foods' operations in England will be considered on its merits. According to information provided by the Welsh and Scottish devolved Administrations, no grants have been offered to support the investments in Burton's facilities at Edinburgh and Llantarnam announced at the same time as the company's decision to close the Moreton plant.

Consumer Credit: Licensing

Lorely Burt: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many consumer credit licences under the Consumer Credit Act 1974 were  (a) issued or renewed and  (b) revoked for failure to comply with debt management guidance by the Office of Fair Trading in each year since 2005.

Edward Davey: Between 2005 and 2010 The Office of Fair Trading (OFT) issued or renewed a total of 102,691 consumer credit licences. This breaks down as follows:
	23,503 licences were issued in 2005-06;
	21,777 in 2006-07;
	21,356 in 2007-08;
	20,474 in 2008-09; and
	15,581 in 2009-10.
	In 2007-08, the OFT issued 2,551 licences with the debt counselling and/or debt adjusting categories required by businesses wishing to operate in the debt management sector. This figure increased to 3,780 for the period 2009-10. Please note that only a small percentage of traders granted consumer credit licences actually engage in debt management activities.
	Between 2005 and 2010 the OFT issued a total of 44 minded to refuse or revoke or minded to refuse a variation application or minded to compulsorily vary notices to debt management companies. Out of 44 notices, non-compliances with the debt management guidance were cited in 40 cases. Of these 40 cases, the licences of 14 traders were successfully revoked or their applications were refused but three of these decisions are subject to appeal to the first tier consumer Credit Appeals Tribunal.
	This figure (14) breaks down as follows:
	one licence was revoked in 2007-08;
	one licence application was refused in 2008-09;
	10 licences were refused or revoked in 2009-10; and
	two licence applications, including a variation application, were refused in 2010-11.
	Of the remaining 27 cases, a further three licences were surrendered and four applications were withdrawn following issue of the OFT's notices. Adjudicators, acting on behalf of the OFT, also made determinations favourable to 10 businesses which permitted them to continue to trade, subject to requirements or undertakings being imposed on their licences. Decisions on the licence status of ten remaining cases have yet to be determined.
	Since April 2008 when reforms to the Consumer Credit Act 1974 came into effect the OFT has issued 185 warning letters and 951 advisory letters to traders.
	The OFT announced on 28 January 2011 action taken as a follow up to a review of compliance in the debt management sector. This action involves 129 businesses and has already resulted in 35 licences being surrendered and formal action to revoke licences being taken against another eight licence holders. The OFT is considering further action against a number of other businesses.

Consumers: Advisory Services

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what steps his Department has taken to provide consumer advice in deprived communities.

Edward Davey: This Department is leading work aimed at making the provision of information, advice and education to consumers simpler and more effective. The organisations at the focus of this work are Citizens Advice and Citizens Advice Scotland. These are the umbrella organisations for the citizens advice bureaux that have a unique track record in providing advice to citizens, often those who are vulnerable or come from deprived communities. This includes consumer advice. In 2009/10 Citizens Advice helped 2.1 million people with over seven million problems at 3,500 locations in England and Wales.
	This Department is also involved with Consumer Direct (CD) which is an online and telephone advice service funded and managed by the Office of Fair Trading. It handles approximately 1.7 million telephone calls and emails annually often helping those who are vulnerable or come from deprived communities.
	Although at the national level CD does not specifically target communities, individual CD centres work with a range of community groups to give targeted advice and information. 40% of the contacts handled by CD are from people whose annual household income is less than £20,000.
	This Department is also discussing with the consumer organisation Which? about making wider use of its online information and thereby reducing the costs to the taxpayer of providing such information.

Departmental Libraries

Michael Weir: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many  (a) certified and  (b) chartered librarians his Department and its predecessors have employed in each year since 2000.

Edward Davey: The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills employs staff with qualifications recognised by the Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals (CILIP) and will reimburse these staff for their subscriptions to CILIP. No records are kept as to whether these staff are chartered members.
	The following table shows the number of BIS staff with CILIP recognised qualifications.
	
		
			   Number of people with CILIP recognised qualifications 
			 2005 81 
			 2006 78 
			 2007 66 
			 2008 63 
			 2009 63 
			 2010 64 
			 2011 43

Departmental Regulation

Gordon Banks: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what regulations his Department has removed since 6 May 2010.

Mark Prisk: Since May 2010 the Department has launched a review of employment law and is conducting a fundamental review scrutinising the overall stock of BIS regulation, alongside legacy measures inherited from the previous Administration. These have yet to conclude and so to date no significant regulations have been revoked.

Departmental Responsibilities

Cathy Jamieson: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills pursuant to the answer of 2 December 2010,  Official Report, columns 1005-06W, on the Scottish Government First Minister, in what capacity Tavish Scott MSP attended the meeting; and whether any other Members of the Scottish Parliament were invited to attend.

Edward Davey: Tavish Scott MSP attended the meeting in his capacity as leader of the Scottish Liberal Democrats. No other Members of the Scottish Parliament were invited to attend.

Environment Protection

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what discussions he has had with the Department for Energy and Climate Change on the green economy roadmap.

Mark Prisk: The Green Economy Roadmap is a joint initiative between three Departments, BIS, DECC and DEFRA, to provide clarity to business on the green economy, the Government's policy intentions and the implications for business over the next 10 years. I have discussed plans for the roadmap with my ministerial counterparts in both DECC and DEFRA and we intend to publish this coming April.

Exports

Bob Stewart: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills if he will bring forward proposals to extend the ban on exports of ADE-651 bomb detectors and similar devices beyond Afghanistan and Iraq.

Mark Prisk: The Government currently have no plans to bring forward controls on the export of ADE-651 bomb detectors and similar devices beyond Afghanistan and Iraq.

Exports

Bob Stewart: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what recent representations he has received on the sale of ADE-651 bomb detectors and similar devices sourced from abroad to  (a) Afghanistan and  (b) Iraq by UK-based companies since January 2010.

Mark Prisk: Neither my the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills nor I have had any meetings on the issue of bomb detectors this year.

Exports

Bob Stewart: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for the Home Department on ensuring the export ban of ADE-651 bomb detectors and similar devices to Afghanistan and Iraq is enforced.

Mark Prisk: No such discussions have taken place with the Secretary of State for the Home Department. HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) are the responsible enforcement authority for strategic export controls. HMRC works with the UK Border Agency to enforce prohibitions on the exportation of military equipment.

Exports

Bob Stewart: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills if he will work with his EU counterparts towards implementing an EU-wide ban on the export of ADE-651 bomb detectors and similar devices.

Mark Prisk: Yes.

Exports: Military Aircraft

Jonathan Edwards: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills when the most recent export licences were granted for components for  (a) F-15 aircraft,  (b) F-16 aircraft and  (c) Apache helicopters (i) directly to Israel and (ii) to the US for incorporation with the final customer being Israel.

Mark Prisk: The most recent licences the Government have issued, with dates, are as follows:
	Components for F-16 aircraft exported to the US for incorporation, with the ultimate end user being Israel-January 2006 (components for military aircraft head-down displays and military aircraft head-down display equipment);
	Components for Apache helicopters exported to the US for incorporation, with the ultimate end user being Israel-January 2006 (components for combat helicopters).
	Our records for the last 10 years show no components have been supplied direct to Israel for Apache helicopters, F-15, or F-16 aircraft and no components have been supplied to the US for incorporation for F-15 aircraft, with the final customer being Israel.

Further Education: VAT

Damian Hinds: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what requirements arising from EU regulations govern the exemption from value added tax or zero-rating of buildings for sixth form and further education colleges in respect of  (a) entirely new-build colleges,  (b) extensions or new buildings for existing colleges and  (c) adjustments, conversions and maintenance work within existing colleges.

David Gauke: I have been asked to reply.
	No VAT exemptions apply to the construction of buildings.
	EU law allows the UK to continue to apply zero rates that were in force on 1 January 1991.
	In the construction field, zero rates are applied by the UK to the construction of new dwellings, communal residential buildings, and buildings to be used by charities for specific purposes, namely as village halls or for non-business activities. Works of alteration, which may include extensions, adjustments and conversions, are zero-rated when they are carried out to listed buildings which are dwellings, communal residential buildings and charity buildings.
	Works of repair and maintenance are outside the scope of these zero rates and have always been liable to VAT.
	Sixth form colleges and further education colleges may qualify for the zero rate if they are charities and use their buildings solely for non-business purposes.

Higher Education: North West

Paul Maynard: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many people normally resident in Blackpool North and Cleveleys constituency applied to attend university to start in the academic year  (a) 2009-10,  (b) 2010-11 and  (c) 2011-12.

David Willetts: The information requested is in the following table:
	
		
			  Applicants to full-time undergraduate courses via UCAS from Blackpool North and Cleveleys constituency for entry in academic year 2009/10 and 2010/11 
			  Parliamentary constituency  2009/10  2010/11 
			 Blackpool North and Cleveleys 808 865 
			  Note: Blackpool North and Cleveleys constituency has been identified using the home postcode regardless of declared area of permanent residence.  Source: Universities and Colleges Admissions Service (UCAS) 
		
	
	At 24 January 2011, 678 people from Blackpool North and Cleveleys constituency had applied for entry in academic year 2011/12. Final UCAS data for 2011/12 will be available in January 2012.

Local Enterprise Partnerships

Henry Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills if he will assess the merits of providing a small budget to local economic partnerships for the purpose of establishing a secretariat which would not be under the control of a single organisation.

Mark Prisk: As set out in the Local Growth White Paper local enterprise partnerships will be expected to fund their own day-to-day running costs. To support local enterprise partnerships in their development we have recently announced a capacity fund to help them understand the real issues facing local businesses in their localities. More detail on this fund will follow shortly.

National Union of Students: Membership

Christopher Pincher: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills 
	(1)  if he will bring forward proposals to reform the membership of rules for student unions and the National Union of Students so that membership is by voluntary opt-in;
	(2)  if he will review the funding arrangement for the National Union of Students for the purposes of establishing voluntary membership funding arrangements.

David Willetts: I do not believe there is a need to change the existing funding and membership arrangements. Individual students' unions are not automatically members of the National Union of Students (NUS). Their choice, whether to affiliate or not, will be based on consultation with their local student members. If they decide to affiliate, they pay an annual subscription to the NUS and their local members automatically become NUS members.
	Students have the right, under Part II of the Education Act 1994, to opt-out of membership of their local students' union, and by effect also from the NUS.

Office of Fair Trading: Complaints

Lorely Burt: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many complaints relating to the practice of debt management companies the Office of Fair Trading has received in each year since 2005; and how many such complaints resulted in the revocation of a company's licence.

Edward Davey: During the period 2005-11 the Office of Fair Trading's (OFT) Enquiries and Reporting Centre received a total of 985 complaints about debt management companies.
	This complaint total is broken down as follows:
	82 complaints were received in 2005
	109 complaints were received in 2006 and in 2007
	107 complaints were received in 2008;
	301 complaints were received in 2009;
	350 were received in 2010; and, finally
	19 complaints have been received by the OFT during the period 2010-11.
	Out of 44 minded to refuse or revoke of minded to refuse a variation application or minded to compulsorily vary notices that the OFT issued to debt management companies during the period 2005-11, consumer and other stakeholder complaint evidence was cited in 22 notices.

Older Workers: Cumbria

Tim Farron: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills if he will estimate the number of workers aged 65 years in  (a) Cumbria and  (b) Westmorland and Lonsdale constituency who are likely to remain in the work force for an additional year following the end of the default retirement age.

Edward Davey: Our impact assessment estimates that around 6,000 additional workers are likely to remain in the work force across the UK in the first year. We do not have data from which to produce robust estimates on the proportion likely to remain in the work force at the sub-regional level. The full impact assessment was published on 13 January and is available at:
	http://bis.gov.uk/assets/biscore/employment-matters/docs/p/11-634-phasing-out-default-retirement-age-impact-assessment.pdf

Overseas Students: Bangladesh

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills 
	(1)  how many postgraduate students from Bangladesh were enrolled at a university in the UK in each of the last five years;
	(2)  how many students from Bangladesh were enrolled on an undergraduate course in the UK in each of the last five years.

David Willetts: The number of Bangladesh-domiciled postgraduate and undergraduate enrolments at UK higher education institutions are shown in the table, for the academic years 2005/06 to 2009/10. Figures for the 2010/11 academic year will become available from January 2012.
	
		
			  Bangladesh-domiciled postgraduate and undergraduate enrolments( 1) .( ) UK higher education institutions( 2) . Academic years 2005/06 to 2009/10 
			  Academic year  Postgraduate  Undergraduate  Total 
			 2005/06 965 1,135 2,100 
			 2006/07 1,210 1,325 2,535 
			 2007/08 1,445 1,370 2,815 
			 2008/09 1,810 1,675 3,485 
			 2009/10 2,360 1,810 4,170 
			 (1) Covers enrolments of all ages to full-time and part-time courses. (2) Excludes the Open University.  Notes: 1. Figures are based on a HESA standard registration population. 2. Figures in the table have been rounded up or down to the nearest five, so components may not sum to totals.  Source: Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) Student Record

Overseas Students: Yemen

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills 
	(1)  how many students from Yemen were enrolled on a postgraduate course in the UK in each of the last five years;
	(2)  how many students from Yemen were enrolled on undergraduate courses in the UK in each of the last five years.

David Willetts: The latest available figures from the Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) are shown in the table. Figures for the 2010/11 academic year will be available in January 2012.
	
		
			  Yemen domiciled enrolments( 1)  by level of study UK higher education institutions( 2) .( ) Academic years 2005/06 to 2009/10 
			  Academic year  Postgraduate  Undergraduate  Total 
			 2005/06 60 95 155 
			 2006/07 90 100 190 
			 2007/08 65 100 165 
			 2008/09 75 65 140 
			 2009/10 65 70 135 
			 (1) Covers both full-time and part-time enrolments of all ages. (2) No Yemen domiciled enrolments were recorded as studying at the Open University in these years. As OU courses are delivered by distance learning, overseas students are likely to stay in their own country to study.  Note: Figures are based on a HESA standard registration population and have been rounded to the nearest five.  Source: Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA).

EDUCATION

Children in Care

John Hemming: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what proportion of children under the age of five left care, where care is defined as subject to a care order, police protection order, emergency protection order, or placement for adoption, and were adopted in each year from 1995 to 2010.

Tim Loughton: The percentage of children, under the age of five, subject to a care order, police protection order or emergency protection order or placed for adoption who left care through adoption each year ending 31 March 1995 to 2010 is shown in the following table.
	
		
			  Percentage of children under the age of five subject to a care order, police protection order, emergency protection order or who were placed for adoption who were adopted( 1, 2, 3, 4) . Years ending 31 March 1995 to 2010. Coverage: England 
			   Children adopted (percentage) 
			 1995(5) 39 
			 1996(5) 39 
			 1997(5) 41 
			 1998(6) 48 
			 1999(6) 47 
			 2000(6) 54 
			 2001(6) 58 
			 2002(6) 59 
			 2003(6) 61 
			 2004(5) 55 
			 2005(5) 56 
			 2006(5) 55 
			 2007(5) 51 
			 2008(5) 50 
			 2009(5) 51 
			 2010(5) 50 
			 (1) Percentages have been rounded to the nearest whole number. (2) Only the last occasion on which a child ceased to be looked after in the year has been counted. (3) Figures exclude children looked after under an agreed series of short-term placements. (4) Historical data may differ from older publications. This is mainly due to the implementation of amendments and corrections sent by some local authorities after the publication date of previous materials. (5) Figures are taken from the SSDA903 return which covered all children looked after. (6) Figures are derived from the SSDA903 one third sample survey. Sourc e: SSDA903

Curriculum

Matthew Offord: To ask the Secretary of State for Education whether  (a) academies and  (b) free schools will be subject to national curriculum changes made by his Department.

Nick Gibb: Academies and free schools are not required to follow the National Curriculum. However, they are required to teach a broad and balanced curriculum.
	The new National Curriculum will continue to be a statutory requirement for maintained schools and will also retain its importance as a national benchmark of excellence for all schools, including academies and free schools.

Departmental Manpower

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many staff in each age group his Department employed at each  (a) grade and  (b) location in (i) 1980, (ii) 1983, (iii) 1987, (iv) 1992, (v) 1997, (vi) 2001 and (vii) each year since 2005.

Tim Loughton: The Department for Education was established on 12 May 2010. Information for predecessor Departments on how many staff were employed in the years stated broken down by grade and age, is available in the Civil Service Statistics published on the Cabinet Office's website at:
	www.civilservice.gov.uk/about/resources/stats-archive/archived-reports.aspx

Departmental Work Experience

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many interns his Department has engaged in the last 12 months; and how many were  (a) unpaid,  (b) remunerated with expenses only and  (c) paid a salary.

Tim Loughton: The Department engaged 10 interns over the last 12 months, supporting the Cabinet Office six week Summer Diversity Internship Programme.
	All interns participating were London-based and received £350 a week as directed by the Cabinet Office.

Free School Meals

Angela Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many children in  (a) Wallasey constituency,  (b) the Wirral borough council area,  (c) the North West and  (d) England are in receipt of free school meals.

Nick Gibb: Information on free school meal eligibility is shown in the table set out as follows.
	The answer includes full time pupils aged 0 to 15 and part time pupils aged 5 to 15 known to be eligible for and claiming free school meals.
	
		
			  Maintained nursery, primary( 1) , state funded secondary( 1, 2)  and special schools( 3) : School meal arrangements( 4, 5)  January 2010 
			   Maintained nursery and primary( 1)  State-funded secondary( 2)  Special( 3) 
			   Number on roll( 4, 5)  Number of pupils known to be eligible for and claiming free school meals( 4, 5)  Percentage known to be eligible for and claiming free school meals  Number on roll( 4, 5)  Number of pupils known to be eligible for and claiming free school meals( 4, 5)  Percentage known to be eligible for and claiming free school meals  Number on roll( 4, 5)  Number of pupils known to be eligible for and claiming free school meals( 4, 5)  Percentage known to be eligible for and claiming free school meals 
			 England 3,838,680 711,410 15.5 2,864,350 441,140 15.4 78,330 27,330 34.9 
			 North West 540,660 115,850 21.4 395,590 72,780 18.4 11,200 4,550 40.6 
			 Wirral 23,640 6,510 27.5 19,110 4,730 24.8 880 410 46.4 
			 Wallasey 6,330 2,080 32.9 5,010 1,710 34.1 380 180 47.1 
			 (1) Includes middle schools as deemed. (2) Includes city technology colleges and academies. (3) Includes maintained and non-maintained special schools, excludes general hospital schools. (4) Includes sole and dual (main) registrations. (5) Includes pupils who have full time attendance and are aged 15 or under, or pupils who have part time attendance and are aged between 5 and 15.  Note: Pupil numbers have been rounded to the nearest 10  Source: School Census

Free School Meals

Bob Stewart: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what recent representations he has received on eligible families not taking up free school meals due to a perceived social stigma.

Nick Gibb: We receive occasional correspondence on stigma in relation to claiming free school meals. It is an issue that we take very seriously-there are clear financial and nutritional benefits for pupils from poorer families taking a free school lunch.
	Cashless catering or 'swipe card' arrangements, integrated dining/queuing and pricing meals so that the cost of a meal is the same for those on free lunches as it is for others, are some of the helpful ways schools can minimise the easy identification and stigmatisation of pupils on free meals. Many schools have chosen to invest their targeted kitchen capital funding in cashless systems for this reason.
	The Department has worked closely with other Government Departments to develop a Free School Meals Eligibility Checking System, known as "the ECS". The ECS enables local authorities to check data from the Department for Work and Pensions, the Home Office and Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs in order to find out if a family qualifies for free school meals. It represents a significant achievement in reducing bureaucracy and cost for local authorities and encouraging more parents to sign up their children for a free school lunch.
	Bullying or victimisation of pupils claiming free school meals is totally unacceptable. This is why we are now strengthening head teachers' authority to enforce discipline and ensure good behaviour both in and out of school.

Free School Meals: Sunderland

Bridget Phillipson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many people received free school meals in Sunderland in the most recent year for which figures are available.

Nick Gibb: Information on free school meal eligibility is shown in the table.
	The answer includes full time pupils aged 0 to 15 and part time pupils aged five to 15 known to be eligible for and claiming free school meals.
	This information has been published in Tables 11a, b and c of the Schools, Pupils and their Characteristics: January 2010 Statistical First Release at:
	http://www.education.gov.uk/rsgateway/DB/SFR/s000925/index.shtml
	
		
			  Maintained nursery, primary( 1) , state funded secondary( 1,2)  and special schools( 3) : school meal arrangements( 4,5) -January 2010 
			   Maintained nursery and primary( 1)  State-funded secondary ( 1,2)  Special( 3) 
			   No. on roll( 4,5)  No. of pupils known to be eligible for and claiming free school meals( 4,5)  % known to be eligible for and claiming free school meals  No. on roll( 4,5)  No. of pupils known to be eligible for and claiming free school meals( 4,5)  % known to be eligible for and claiming free school meals  No. on roll( 4,5)  No. of pupils known to be eligible for and claiming free school meals( 4,5)  % known to be eligible for and claiming free school meals 
			 Sunderland 19,822 4,852 24.5 16,478 3,234 19.6 444 170 38.3 
			 (1) Includes middle schools as deemed. (2) Includes city technology colleges and academies. (3) Includes maintained and non-maintained special schools, excludes general hospital schools. (4) Includes sole and dual (main) registrations. (5) Includes pupils who have full time attendance and are aged 0 to 15, or pupils who have part time attendance and are aged 5 to 15.  Source: School Census

Free Schools

Stella Creasy: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what assessment his Department has made of the cost to the public purse of introducing the first free schools by September 2011.

Nick Gibb: holding answer 24 January 2011
	Free Schools will receive revenue funding at a rate that is equivalent to maintained schools and academies. Capital funding of up to £50 million has been set aside in 2010-11 to meet the needs of Free Schools. Beyond that, the provision for Free Schools forms part of the overall spending review settlement for schools.

Home Education

Gareth Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what estimate he has made of the number of children who are home-schooled in Dartford constituency.

Nick Gibb: The Department does not collect information about the number of home-schooled children and has not made a recent estimate of the number of home-schooled children in Dartford constituency.

New Enterprise Allowance

Denis MacShane: To ask the Secretary of State for Education pursuant to the answer from the Minister of State, Department for Work and Pensions, of 10 January 2011,  Official Report, column 8, on the enterprise allowance, if he will continue his Department's support for the Education Business Partnership Scheme in South Yorkshire.

Nick Gibb: I refer the right hon. Member to the reply I gave him on 25 January 2011,  Official Report, column 161W.

Personal, Social, Health and Economic Education

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Education pursuant to his written ministerial statement of 20 January 2011,  Official Report, columns 47-48WS, when he plans to conduct his separate internal review of personal, social, health and economic education; who he plans to consult during the review; if he will make it his policy to ensure  (a) selection and  (b) publication of comments submitted to him; and if he will make a statement.

Nick Gibb: Decisions relating to the process and time scale for the internal PSHE review have not yet been taken. The Department for Education is currently considering options and further information will be available in due course.

Pupils: Absenteeism

Lyn Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what account his Department takes of appeals made direct to it by parents in respect of unauthorised absences of pupils from school.

Nick Gibb: The Department receives a number of complaints from parents on a variety of school attendance related matters. These are usually considered under section 496/7 of the Education Act 1996. The decision whether or not to authorise individual pupil absences rests with the person who has responsibility for the school register (normally the head teacher) and the governing body of the school which has overall responsibility for the register. Where a governing body has followed the relevant attendance regulations it is unlikely that there will be grounds for the Secretary of State to intervene.
	The Secretary of State has power to intervene under section 496/7 of the Education Act 1996 if he considers that the governing body of a maintained school or a local authority has acted unreasonably in the exercise of their powers or duties (section 496) or that they have failed to carry out a duty (section 497). Every matter that is referred to the Secretary of State under section 496 /497 will be considered on the individual merits of the case.
	Where attendance becomes problematic schools should address the matter informally with parents in the first instance. They may also want to back this up with voluntary parenting contracts that provide support to parents to enable them to manage their child's school attendance.
	Where parents are unwilling or refuse to co-operate then decisions will have to be taken at a local level in relation to more rigorous sanctions-such as sanctions under the school attendance order framework, including school attendance orders, prosecutions, penalty notices, parenting orders. Ultimately these decisions are made by local authorities and by the courts. We do expect prosecutions to be used as a last resort where other strategies to address poor attendance have failed.
	Local authorities receive information on pupil attendance from the schools in their area. They are under a duty to use the school attendance order statutory framework where they identify that a child may not be receiving suitable education because of a failure to attend school regularly, Parents can be prosecuted for failure to comply with a school attendance order. There is provision within the school attendance order framework for parents to complain to the Secretary of State if they feel that the local authority has acted unreasonably in continuing to enforce a school attendance order. The Secretary of State can in these circumstances make whatever direction he thinks fit. Again, each case would be considered on its merits.

Pupils: Absenteeism

Lyn Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what recent analysis has been undertaken of geographical variations in levels of unauthorised absences from  (a) primary and  (b) secondary schools.

Nick Gibb: The most recent analysis on unauthorised absence has been published as part of the Statistical First Release (SFR) "Pupil Absence in Schools in England: Autumn Term 2009 and Spring Term 2010". This is available on our Research and Statistics Gateway website at
	http://www.education.gov.uk/rsgateway/DB/SFR/s000962/index.shtml
	This contains Government office region and local authority level analyses (in tables 6 and 7).
	Data for the academic year 2008/09 is available in the SFR "Pupil Absence in Schools in England, Including Pupil Characteristics: 2008/09", which can be found at
	http://www.education.gov.uk/rsgateway/DB/SFR/s000918/index.shtml
	This contains Government office region and local authority level analyses (in tables 7.1 and 7.2) as well as tables relating pupil absence to school location and pupil residence by local authority district (tables 8.1 to 8.8).
	Additionally, we publish pupil residence absence data for various geographic area types on the Neighbourhood Statistics website at
	http://www.neighbourhood.statistics.gov.uk/dissemination/
	These data are available for 2006/07, 2007/08 and 2008/09.

Pupils: Coventry

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what estimate he has made of the number of students in Coventry who will qualify for the pupil premium; and how many students in Coventry have received education maintenance allowance payments in each of the last five years.

Nick Gibb: holding answer 25 January 2011
	The pupil premium for 2011-12 will be allocated to local authorities and schools with pupils that are known to be eligible for free school meals (FSM) as recorded on the January 2011 school census, PRU and AP census. Each pupil known to be eligible for free school meals will attract £430 of funding which will go to the school or academy via the local authority or Young People's Learning Agency if the pupil is in a mainstream setting or will be managed by the responsible local authority if the pupil is in a non-mainstream setting.
	Local authorities will also attract the pupil premium for looked-after children which will be allocated to local authorities for pupils who at some point in the year to 31 March 2010 were looked after continuously for at least six months, and who were aged four to 15 on 31 August 2009 as recorded on the April 2010 local authority return. In 2011-12, each pupil will attract £430 of funding which will go to the responsible local authority who will pass it to maintained schools for pupils who have been in care for six months or more in the year to 31 March 2011.
	The January 2010 school censuses allow an estimate of the number of pupils known to be eligible for FSM to be made. In Coventry in January 2010 there were 10,395 pupils known to be eligible, which would give rise to a pupil premium of £4,469,850. However, these are estimates only and are not necessarily indicative of how the pupil premium will be distributed. The number of eligible pupils in 2011 could be higher or lower.
	The question of how many young people in Coventry received EMA is a matter for the Young People's Learning Agency who operate the education maintenance allowance for the Department for Education. Peter Lauener the YPLA's chief executive, has written to the hon. Member for Coventry South with the information requested and a copy of his reply has been placed in the House Libraries.
	 Pupil premium n ote :
	The above estimates include FSM-eligible pupils, in reception to year 11, or the appropriate age-range if not following the national curriculum, as at the January 2010 school census, pupil referral unit census and the alternative provision census (i.e. those pupils funded through the Dedicated Schools Grant via local authorities but educated in non-maintained special schools, further education establishments, etc.) and those eligible for the looked-after child pupil premium. Pupil numbers are rounded to the nearest five.
	 Letter from Peter Lauener, dated 25 January 2011
	I am writing in response to your Parliamentary Question PQ35238.
	The Department of Education has responded to you regarding the first part of your question. I have been asked to provide a reply to the latter part of your question regarding how many students in Coventry have received Education Maintenance Allowance (EMA).
	EMA take-up is defined as young people who have received one or more EMA payments in the academic year.
	EMA take-up for Coventry is:
	
		
			  Academic year  Take-up 
			 2006/07 3,778 
			 2007/08 3,966 
			 2008/09 3,995 
			 2009/10 4,659 
			 2010/11 as at 31 December 2010 4,378

Pupils: English Language

Kris Hopkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many pupils who enrolled in primary schools in Keighley constituency in each of the last five years did not speak English as a first language.

Nick Gibb: Information on first language is only collected for those pupils aged five and above. Pupils who are under five as at 31 August (at the start of the school year) are not required to provide such information.
	The available information on the number of primary school pupils of compulsory school age and above (age as at 31 August) whose first language is known or believed to be other than English is shown in the following table.
	
		
			  Number of pupils of compulsory school age and above enrolled in primary schools( 1)  where first language is known or believed to be other than English( 2) , Keighley parliamentary constituency-January 2006 to 2010 
			   Number of pupils  Percentage of pupils( 3) 
			 2006 1,555 23.4 
			 2007 1,627 24.7 
			 2008 1,717 26.4 
			 2009 1,657 25.2 
			 2010 1,888 28.7 
			 (1) Includes middle schools as deemed. (2) Pupils of compulsory school age and above (at 31 August prior to the year shown) were classified by first language. Excludes dual registrations. (3) The number of pupils by their first language expressed as a percentage of the number of pupils of compulsory school age and above.  Source: School Census

Pupils: English Language

Chris Skidmore: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many and what proportion of primary schools had more than 50 per cent. of pupils with English as an additional language in each year since 1997.

Nick Gibb: The requested information is shown in the following table:
	
		
			  Number and percentage of primary schools( 1)  with more than 50% of pupils whose first language is known or believed to be other than English( 2)  January 1997 to 2010-England 
			   Number of primary schools( 1)  
			   With more than 50% of pupils whose first language is known or believed to be other than English( 2)  Total  Percentage 
			 1997(3) 685 18,392 3.7 
			 1998 789 18,312 4.3 
			 1999 762 18,234 4.2 
			 2000 793 18,158 4.4 
			 2001(4) 903 18,069 5.0 
			 2002 935 17,985 5.2 
			 2003 933 17,861 5.2 
			 2004 976 17,762 5.5 
			 2005 1,019 17,642 5.8 
			 2006 1,069 17,504 6.1 
			 2007 1,149 17,361 6.6 
			 2008 1,216 17,205 7.1 
			 2009 1,284 17,064 7.5 
			 2010 1,328 16,971 7.8 
			 (1) Includes middle schools as deemed. (2) Pupils of compulsory school age and above, as at 31 August prior to each year shown, were classified by first language. Excludes dual registrations. (3) Includes four schools where pupils below compulsory school age may have been included in the count of pupils whose first language was known or believed to be other than English. (4) Includes 78 schools where pupils below compulsory school age may have been included in the count of pupils whose first language was known or believed to be other than English.  Source: School Census

Pupils: English Language

Chris Skidmore: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many  (a) primary and  (b) secondary school pupils there were where English was an additional language in the last 12 months.

Nick Gibb: In January 2010 the number of pupils of compulsory school age and above (age as at 31 August) whose first language was known or believed to be other than English was 518,020 in local authority maintained primary schools and 378,220 in state-funded secondary schools.
	This information can be found in table 5 in the Schools, Pupils and their Characteristics: January 2010 Statistical First Release at:
	http://www.education.gov.uk/rsgateway/DB/SFR/s000925/index.shtml

Pupils: Per Capita Costs

Julian Huppert: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what estimate he has made of the average funding per school pupil in  (a) Cambridgeshire County Council area,  (b) Surrey County Council area,  (c) Peterborough City Council area,  (d) Essex County Council area,  (e) Buckinghamshire County Council area,  (f) Bedfordshire County Council area,  (g) Hertfordshire County Council area and  (h) nationally in (i) 2009-10, (ii) 2010-11 and (iii) 2011-12.

Nick Gibb: holding answer 20 January 2011
	The available information for 2009-10 and 2010-11 is shown in the following table:
	
		
			  Budget spend per pupil for 2009-10 and 2010-11 
			   2009-10  2010-11 
			 England 3,894.24 4,082.88 
			 Bedford Borough 3,849.83 3,969.45 
			 Buckinghamshire 3,709.38 3,932.04 
			 Cambridgeshire 3,585.43 3,764.84 
			 Essex 3,796.23 3,895.38 
			 Hertfordshire 3,760.08 4,033.00 
			 Peterborough 3,909.47 4,039.08 
			 Surrey 3,828.82 3,977.21 
		
	
	On 13 December 2010, the Government announced the Dedicated Schools Grant settlement for each local authority and details of the pupil premium for 2011-12.
	For 2011-12, we are protecting school funding in the system at flat cash per pupil, before adding the pupil premium. Flat cash per pupil means that as pupil numbers go up, the overall budget goes up in line.

Religious Education

Greg Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what his policy is on the requirement for religious education to be a compulsory subject in all maintained schools.

Nick Gibb: Religious education holds a unique position as a statutory subject in the basic curriculum for all pupils in maintained schools in England. It is not a part of the National Curriculum, which means that there are no statutory national programmes of study, attainment targets or assessment arrangements. The nature of RE is such that local authorities and schools, who know their communities, are best positioned to design a syllabus which reflects local traditions and needs. The locally agreed syllabus, which is designed by Standing Advisory Councils on Religious Education SACRE and adopted by the local authority, is statutory, and that means that local authorities must provide such a syllabus and that maintained schools must follow it. Schools with a religious character can either follow the locally agreed syllabus, or use a syllabus which has been agreed by their governing body. It is the responsibility of the head teacher, governors and local authorities (LAs) to make the necessary provisions for RE in all maintained schools.
	We are firmly committed to maintaining the strong position of RE in the basic school curriculum and we do not intend to change the current statutory arrangements.

Religious Education

David Burrowes: To ask the Secretary of State for Education whether his Department's review of the national curriculum will include the status of religious education.

Nick Gibb: Religious education (RE) is a statutory part of the basic curriculum of maintained schools in England, but not a part of the national curriculum. There are a number of important components of a broad and balanced school curriculum for which, as is currently the case, it would be inappropriate to prescribe national programmes of study. RE falls into this category, and therefore, falls outside the scope of a review of the national curriculum.
	The nature of RE is such that local authorities and schools, who know their communities, are best positioned to design a syllabus which reflects local traditions and needs. The locally agreed syllabus, which is designed by Standing Advisory Councils on Religious Education and adopted by the local authority, is statutory, and that means that local authorities must provide such a syllabus and that maintained schools must follow it. The Government do not intend to make any changes to the statutory basis for RE.

Religious Education

Caroline Nokes: To ask the Secretary of State for Education for what reasons he has excluded religious studies from the humanities list of the English Baccalaureate.

Nick Gibb: For the purposes of the 2010 performance tables the humanities element of the English Baccalaureate measure was either history or geography. We have not included religious education (RE) as fulfilling the humanity requirement of the English Baccalaureate because it is already a compulsory subject. One of the intentions of the English Baccalaureate is to encourage wider take up of geography and history in addition to, rather than instead of, compulsory RE.
	However we recognise, as many schools do, the benefits that religious education can bring to pupils. This is why the teaching of RE remains compulsory throughout a pupil's schooling. Success in all subjects studied at GCSE will also continue to be recognised by other performance table measures, as it has in the past. We are open to arguments about how we can further improve the measures in the performance tables and will review the precise definition of the English Baccalaureate for the 2011 tables.

School Meals

Sharon Hodgson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education whether he has made a cost-benefit assessment of the merits of extending the Dinner Money module to all primary schools using the SIMS register software.

Nick Gibb: The Department does not generally assess individual software applications such as SIMS in schools. It is for schools and local authorities to decide which products, including software of this type, best suit their needs. They are best placed to procure such products based on their particular circumstances.
	However, we are always interested to hear about new developments in technology and to support value for money and good compatibility (interoperability) between operating systems such as SIMS and other systems.

Schools: Finance

David Anderson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how funds for capital spending will be allocated equitably to  (a) new academy schools and  (b) maintained schools.

Nick Gibb: On 13 December 2010, my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Education (Michael Gove) announced 2011-12 allocations of capital funding for local authorities and schools. This included that open academies will continue to be eligible for devolved formula capital funds on the same basis as maintained schools, and that there will be a centrally retained capital fund for academy maintenance needs. From 2012-13, allocations will be informed by the capital review which the Secretary of State announced on 5 July 2010, and which will be published in due course.

Teachers: Qualifications

Charlotte Leslie: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many and what proportion of trainee teachers retook the compulsory  (a) numeracy and  (b) literacy test (i) once, (ii) twice and (iii) three times or more in each of the last five years.

Nick Gibb: The available information is given in the following table and relates to the number of trainees who passed their skills tests after one, two or more than two attempts between 2004/05 and 2008/09.
	
		
			  Number and percentage of candidates taking tests by number of attempts years: 2004/05 to 2008/09. Coverage: England 
			   2004/05  2005/06  2006/07  2007/08  2008/09 
			   No.  %  No  %  No.  %  No.  %  No.  % 
			  Literacy test   
			 Total number of candidates taking test 34,400 - 34,700 - 35,280 - 33,990 - 33,520 - 
			 Passed skills tests by number of attempts:   
			 1 26,930 78.3 27,440 79.1 28,940 82.0 27,320 80.4 26,810 80.0 
			 2 4,410 12.8 4,200 12.1 3,710 10.5 3,760 11.1 3,890 11.6 
			 3 or more 2,560 7.4 2,510 7.2 2,270 6.4 2,490 7.3 2,730 8.2 
			 Total pass 33,900 98.6 34,150 98.4 34,930 99.0 33,570 98.8 33,440 99.8 
			
			 Failed at least once and are yet to pass 490 1.4 550 1.6 360 1.0 420 1.2 80 0.2 
			
			  Numeracy test   
			 Total number of candidates taking test 33,970 - 34,290 - 34,920 - 33,600 - 33,520 - 
			 Passed skills tests by number of attempts:   
			 1 26,960 79.4 26,790 78.1 26,810 76.8 26,160 77.9 26,030 77.7 
			 2 3.310 9.8 3,430 10.0 3,520 10.1 3,260 9.7 3,190 9.5 
			 3 or more 2,970 8.7 3,160 9.2 3,840 11.0 3,480 10.4 3,530 10.5 
			 Total pass 33,250 97.9 33,380 97.3 34,170 97.8 32,910 97.9 32,750 97.7 
			
			 Failed at least once and are yet to pass 720 2.1 910 2.7 750 2.2 690 2.1 770 2.3 
			  Note: Numbers have been individually rounded to nearest 10 and may not sum.  Source: TDA website